One of the reasons I've always hated welding in chemical plants.  Prayers for the family. 

November 10, 2010, 1:44 PM

The victims in the explosion at the DuPont plant in the Town of Tonawanda Tuesday were identified today by the contractor who employed them.

Richard Folaron was killed in the explosion and William Freeburg remains in the Erie County Medical Center burn unit in serious condition, said Van Mollenberg, president of Mollenberg-Betz.

The explosion was the first serious workplace accident in the contracting company's 100-year history, Mollenberg said.

"This has been a tragic event that took place and one of my worst nightmares, running a business, that this would ever take place," he told reporters at a news conference outside the contractor's offices on Scott Street in Buffalo.

The company has arranged for grief counselors to talk to co-workers, who are deeply saddened by the events of Tuesday, Mollenberg said.

Representatives from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and DuPont today are investigating the fatal accident, which occurred at about 11:10 a.m. Tuesday at the DuPont production plant at 3115 River Road, near Sheridan Drive.

Folaron and Freeburg, welders with the specialty contractor, were attaching a bracket onto a 10,000-gallon, metal storage tank on the grounds of the DuPont plant, officials from the two companies said.

The tank previously held a slurry form -- a solid-liquid mixture -- of the chemical polyvinyl fluoride, or PVF, which is used as a protective coating for solar panels.

The tank had been cleaned, inspected and taken out of use, a DuPont spokesman said, though it's not clear whether some chemical residue remained in the tank.

"As far as I know right at this point, all safety precautions took place and everything was done to the letter of the law, and that's why we're all kind of mystified [at] what took place" Mollenberg said.

Folaron was working on the top of the tank when the explosion occurred, sending the top flying off and killing him instantly, Mollenberg-Betz and Town of Tonawanda police officials said.

The explosion prompted a massive response of police and firefighters from the Town and City of Tonawanda and a Twin Cities ambulance crew.

Freeburg, who is about 50 and lives in Angola, has what looks like a bad sunburn on his face but is expected to make a full recovery.

No chemicals were released in the explosion and the public never was at risk of chemical exposure, DuPont and police Lt. Nicholas A. Bado said.

Folaron, who was 57, was married with four children and was a resident of South Wales, Mollenberg said.

He had worked for the company for 15 years and his brother, Mike, also is a Mollenberg-Betz employee.

"We're a close-knit family, and it's very difficult for them when you work side by side with an individual such as Rich," Mollenberg said.

Freeburg, a 25-year veteran of the company, and Folaron had extensive experience working as contractors at chemical plants and had received all of the required safety training, Mollenberg said.

The company employs 50 people in its office and another 100 employees who work outside of the office, and just about all of them knew Folaron, so this has been a difficult 24 hours for the small contractor, the company president said.

He said officials there don't know exactly what caused the explosion and said they are awaiting the results of the investigations by OSHA and DuPont.

Mollenberg said both DuPont and Mollenberg-Betz have good safety records and he said the contractor has not lost an employee or had a serious industrial accident in its history.

Mollenberg's grandfather was one of two men who founded the company in 1910 and employees celebrated the Mollenberg-Betz centennial a couple of months ago.

The DuPont plant employs about 700 workers, who produce film for solar panels and Corian counter tops and sinks.