A munitions company that handles explosives for the U.S. military is facing a fine of over $3 million after Tennessee investigators found dozens of safety violations at the company’s facility where an explosion killed 16 people last year.
The Oct. 10 explosion destroyed Building 602 at Accurate Energetic Systems’ facility in McEwen, Tennessee, killing all 16 employees inside. According to investigators, employees in that building were working a supply chain that handled “melt cast explosives.”
A 122-page inspection shared with CBS News details more than 100 safety violations, with at least 44 described as “willful-serious.”
Among the violations, officials with the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration said they found evidence that Accurate Energetic Systems had not taken adequate precautions to prevent the ignition of flammable vapors being handled at the facility. The agency said the company also failed to maintain required safety information for its hazardous equipment and demonstrated plain indifference to employee safety.
“AES, despite clear knowledge of the industry standards and recognized explosion hazards in Building 602, continued operations with excessive personnel, unnecessary occupancy, and explosive quantities far beyond the minimum needed for safe and efficient operations,” investigators said in their report.
“AES demonstrated plain indifference to employee safety by failing to limit personnel present, duration of employee exposure, and amount of explosive material present during operations in Building 602 that exposed employees to known explosion, fire, and blast hazards,” the investigators said. “AES increased limits including the net explosive weight, personnel, and transient limits for Building 602 without documented basis demonstrating intentional disregard for industry standards.”
Murat Usubali/Anadolu via Getty Images
The 16 victims were identified as: Jason Adams, Erick Anderson, Billy Baker, Adam Boatman, Christopher Clark, Mindy Clifton, James Cook, Reyna Gillahan, LaTeisha Mays, Jeremy Moore, Melinda Rainey, Melissa Stanford, Trenton Stewart, Rachel Woodall, Steven Wright and Donald Yowell.
In a statement to CBS News, Accurate Energetic Systems CEO Wendell Stinson disputed the state’s findings.
“We believe that TOSHA’s findings do not represent the standard of safety we strive to achieve every day, nor our commitment to the wellbeing of our team members and their loved ones,” Stinson said.
He said the company was investigating the explosion and assisting government investigators.
“Those we lost embodied the very heart of our community,” Stinson said. “They were our friends and family, and we suffer from their loss. We miss them, love them, and will always cherish our memories of them.”
Attorney Darren Richie, who is representing the families of Gillahan and Wright, said, “Every aspect of this is egregious.”
His firm alleges the explosion was not unforeseeable and notes that the $3.13 million penalty from the state Occupational Safety and Health Administration is the largest in Tennessee history.
“This company took a $120 million Department of Defense contract in 2025,” Richie said. “I believe that these folks knew exactly what they were doing, and they were fine sacrificing their employees’ lives for that $120 million contract.”
Richie provided CBS News with a draft of two wrongful death lawsuits his firm plans to file later this month in federal court on behalf of the Gillahan and Wright families.
Earlier this week, each family demanded $150 million from Accurate Energetic Systems in a prelitigation settlement offer. A company spokesperson declined to comment on the potential litigation to CBS News.
“What we can say is that the families of the victims of this tragedy have been our focal point since October 10,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
Richie said the company rejected the settlement demand and argued the state’s workers’ compensation program is the exclusive remedy for any injury in the workplace. Richie alleged the company also refused to provide insurance information to families.
“To date, the conduct of AES to show their gratitude to the families and support to the families consists of three items: They had a barbecue food truck at an event for the families, they sent a T-shirt with the deceased loved one’s picture on it to the families and a $50 gift card to Walmart. Needless to say, that’s insulting,” Richie said.
Stinson said the company has been providing long-term care and resources through a support fund and the nonprofit health system Centerstone.
“With the assistance of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, Helping Hands of Hickman/Humphreys County, Centerstone, and thousands of people within our community and from across the country, we have provided financial relief, grief and ongoing counseling, regular food deliveries, access to professional services and consulting, and recurring everyday needs among a host of other support measures,” the company spokesperson told CBS News. “We continue to be devastated for their losses.”
