Scratching Explosives

We’ll never know the details of the June 21 explosion in the Prva Iskra Baric military industry factory nor will anyone be blamed for the deaths of workers Dragan Lukovic and Nedja Spinja. Just like the people to blame for the deaths of 11 workers in last year’s accident at the Grmec factory in Zemun will never answer for a number of failures to stick to regulations on test producing explosives. The results of investigations by experts are never made public as a rule, allegedly because of military secrets or other reasons which are used to cover up ignorance and a lack of concern for human life, violations of the law and regulations. Those people are never taken to court.

Lukovic and Spinja were allegedly cleaning out one of several smaller cauldrons (1,000 liters) at the end of the production line of the devastating explosives hexogen or pentrit (only octogen is more powerful) which are produced in Prva Iskra. Both explosives are highly sensitive to friction, especially pentrit, in the form of crystals. If the two workers, as unofficially reported, were washing out the cauldron that was because the two explosives are made one after the other and the production line has to be cleaned between explosives. Regulations say that the cauldrons should be cleaned out only with water. The production of both explosives is done under water because of their sensitivity to friction.

Everyone agrees that lack of care is always the cause of these explosions. The fact remains that simple workers can’t be left without expert overseeing in high risk jobs. Prva Iskra technical director Vojin Mirkovic confirmed that the accident happened while they were cleaning out the cauldron which had a little of the explosive left in it, and that may or may not be true. He left the details up to the commission that is investigating the accident.

Investigations into accidents like this always end in findings of accidental circumstances, inexpert handling of explosive materials, the human factor and blame for the people who were killed. That’s what happened after an accident in the Milan Blagojevic military chemical industry factory in Lucani on February 14, 1995 when five people died. That accident happened in the riskiest stage of explosive production which was turned into a remote controlled process later. Regulations ban workers from entering the rooms while machines are working. We still don’t know who ordered the doors opened for a minor repair. That was when the explosion came killing five employees. No one was ever held responsible. Not even because the high risk gunpowder production plant was in an unsuitable building.

A hundred and forty days later, on July 3 last year, a huge explosion of rocket fuel shook the Grmec plant in Zemun. The bodies of five employees were blown apart and a statement said the cause of the accident was "a so far unknown reaction in chemical production". Instead of an explanation, the public was given telegrams of condolences by Zoran Lilic, Radoje Kontic, Mirko Marjanovic, Nebojsa Covic and General Momcilo Perisic and heart rendering praise to the men who died in Vecernje Novosti. None of the people who thought up the mad scheme and approved the production of rocket fuel in Grmec, which was completely unequipped to handle high risk production, was ever taken to court.