PHOTO BY SPENCER TIREY
Smoke is seen Friday coming from the top of one of the silos at the AERT plant in Springdale.
SPRINGDALE — A dust explosion at the AERT Springdale plant blew the roof off a silo early this morning.
No one was injured in the blast.
The explosion and ensuing fire occurred shortly before 4 a.m. and the Springdale Fire Department was on scene until about 7:30 a.m., said Kevin McDonald, assistant fire chief.
Joe Brooks, chairman of Springdale-based Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies, said the silo was almost empty so the fire was not too severe.
The company has plants in Springdale and Lowell and manufactures building material from recycled plastic and waste wood fiber. AERT also has a plastics recycling plant outside Watts, Okla., south of Siloam Springs.
AERT operates two plants on Jefferson Street. The north plant continues to operate, while the south plant was shut down for safety concerns. Brooks expects it to be running again in a few days.
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