Around 5 p.m., in a metal waste processing centre, an explosion occurs at a shredder. The noise of the explosion is perceived by local residents. An employee stops the shredder and triggers the sprinkler system.

The discharge column of the shredder suction is damaged. The lower part of the column (located after the filtration, at the level of the silencer) has been ripped open by the blast of the explosion. The manufacturer/installer of the suction device removes the silencer. Spare parts are available within 4 weeks.

The operator is not allowed to put the grinder back into operation until the cause of the event has been identified. Investigations are carried out inside the shredder, on the materials present in the shredder or having been removed shortly before the explosion, and on the destroyed device. Relatively extensive corrosion is found in the silencer damaged by the explosion. The silencer was not able to withstand the blast of the explosion in the crusher.

According to the operator, the explosion was due to the untimely presence of a shell or a gas cylinder among the waste to be shredded. The materials shredded at the time of the event were platinum waste from various collection sites. Metal debris, which could have been parts of shells, was found in the residues coming out of the shredder. The explosion occurred after the crusher had been in operation for two and a half hours, even though the crusher had been shut down during the end-of-year holiday period. A maintenance had been carried out.