Two people were injured in an explosion at a South Baltimore wastewater treatment plant, fire officials said.

Baltimore City firefighters were called just after 1 p.m. Tuesday to the 3500 block of Asiatic Avenue for reports of an explosion, department spokesperson Veobia Akilo said. The block is the site of the Patapsco Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The two injured people were transported to a hospital for treatment, Akilo said. No further details were available about their condition.

Akilo said fire officials are still investigating the cause of the explosion.

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The Maryland Department of the Environment said Tuesday afternoon on X: “We are aware of an explosion at the Patapsco Wastewater Treatment Plant. Inspectors are on the way to the location.”

Baltimore Gas & Electric said it responded to the plant at the request of the Baltimore City Fire Department, but that BGE equipment was not involved.

The Banner has reached out to the city’s Department of Public Works for comment.

Baltimore City firefighters were called just after 1 p.m. Tuesday to the 3500 block of Asiatic Avenue for reports of an explosion, department spokesperson Veobia Akilo said. The block is the site of the Patapsco Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Baltimore City firefighters were called just after 1 p.m. Tuesday to the 3500 block of Asiatic Avenue for reports of an explosion. (Darreonna Davis/The Banner)

The explosion comes as Baltimore’s wastewater treatment plants have seen similar incidents in recent years.

An explosion in September 2023 damaged the facilities of Synagro Technologies on the campus of Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant, the larger of Baltimore’s two sewage treatment plants. No injuries were reported from that incident.

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Based in Middle River, Synagro has contracted at Baltimore’s treatment plants since the 1990s and plays an essential role in plant operations, processing thousands of tons of solid waste a year into a cheap fertilizer product. In recent months, the company says contamination in Baltimore’s wastewater has caused problems for its Back River equipment.

The Synagro facility there caught fire in September, and the company has resorted to shipping waste out of state at a cost to the city of millions of dollars a month. It’s not clear whether the latest incident occurred in a Synagro facility, and the company did not immediately respond to emailed questions.

Adam Willis contributed to this report.