One man was taken to the hospital on Wednesday morning after he was burned by an explosion at the Cashin Recyclables facility in Nitro, officials said.
The incident occurred shortly after 10:30 a.m., when the worker was using a hand-held rotary saw to scrap an oxygen cylinder, according to Shawn Alderman, an investigator for the West Virginia State Fire Marshal.
Alderman said that a "burst fire" occurred when the worker cut into the tank.
"You can use a rotary saw [to cut oxygen cylinders], but there are certain precautions you need to take ahead of time," Alderman said.
The injured worker was taken to Cabell Huntington Hospital to be treated for burns, Alderman said.
Investigators from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration were looking into the incident, an OSHA spokeswoman said.Managers at Cashin Recyclables were in a meeting and unavailable for comment on the incident.
The company was fined more than $20,000 for alleged federal safety violations following an April 2013 inspection. OSHA settled the case for $12,000, according to agency records.