Nashville-area television stations are pointing to a history of problems – including a prior fatal explosion and safety violations linked to seizures suffered by employees – at the site of Friday’s blast that leveled a munitions factory in Tennessee and left 18 people missing and feared dead.

The explosion left little more than a mass of twisted metal at the plant operated by Accurate Energetic Systems, which supplies explosives for the American military. Sheriff Chris Davis of Humphreys County told the Associated Press the blast scattered debris over at least half a mile and was heard 15 miles away.

Mr. Davis said Saturday that no survivors have been found and that investigators cannot yet say what caused the explosion in the Bucksnort area, about 60 miles southwest of Nashville. But it was not the first fatal incident at the eight-building facility where several companies have operations.

Three workers were injured and a fourth died later of injuries resulting from a 2014 explosion at a building in the complex used to manufacture ammunition components, according to Fox17 WZTV Nashville.

The station said that the blast destroyed a building owned by Rio Ammunition,  which manufactures both lethal and less-lethal products for law enforcement, the military, and hunters.

WSMV4 Nashville, meanwhile, is reporting that Accurate Energetic Systems was cited in 2019 by the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration for safety violations that came to light after five employees “experienced central nervous system impairment.”

The employees were afflicted shortly after working shifts at the company’s “Hot House,” where they worked with powdered cyclonite – a powerful explosive also known as RDX which is used in making military-grade C4 and Semtex.

“While performing this work, employees had the potential to be exposed to cyclonite (RDX) through inhalation, ingestion, and absorption through the skin,” the report said.

According to the TOSHA citation reproduced on the TV station’s website, “Employees were permitted to consume food or beverage in area(s) exposed to toxic materials: In that, the employer had not ensured that surfaces in the breakroom including the table and microwave were kept free from the hazardous chemical cyclonite (RDX).”

The citation also accused the company of failing to provide the workers with appropriate protective equipment and training, including making them aware of “the health hazards of cyclonite (RDX) such as convulsions and loss of consciousness.”

Legal representatives for the company objected to the citations at the time, arguing that air tests had found the level of RDX to be below the safe limits and saying the wipe samples were “infinitesimally small,” WSMV4 reported.

It said the complaints were resolved in a 2023 settlement in which Accurate Energetic Systems agreed to implement several safety improvements and TOSHA reduced the violations.

The company said in a post on social media on Friday that its “thoughts and prayers” are with the families of those injured or missing as a result of the latest blast and with affected members of the wider community.

“We extend our gratitude to all first responders who continue to work tirelessly under difficult conditions,” the post said.

Public records cited by the AP show that the company has been awarded numerous military contracts to supply munitions ranging from bulk explosives to landmines and small breaching charges, including C4.