Man injured in 'small' explosion at Pinellas solid waste site

Explosion injures worker at solid waste facility

FOX 13's Kylie Jones reports.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A man was injured Tuesday morning when an ammo can exploded at the Pinellas County Solid Waste Disposal Complex, according to the sheriff's office.

What we know:

Deputies responded to the solid waste site off 114th Ave. N around 8:43 a.m. for reports of an explosion.

Officials say a man picked up an ammo can and opened it, which resulted in a minor explosion. He was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The Pineallas County Sheriff's Office Bomb Dogs cleared the area with no other devices found.

What they're saying:

The owner of Junk Punks Removal Service said his crews were making a standard trip to the landfill to drop off debris Tuesday morning.

He said after his employees finished dumping their trucks, one of them found a device on the ground.

"He had picked one of them up," Sullivan said. "He went over to the driver, I believe, to kind of go show him what this was, ‘Hey, what is this?’ And then, the device started smoking, and then it was a flash bang I think, so it exploded kind of in his hand."

Dig deeper:

A camera in one of the company's trucks caught the minor explosion on video.

"It was just more of a loud bang and a flash," Sullivan said.

Workers with the junk-hauling company said investigators told them that the device didn't appear to come from one of their trucks. It's not clear where the ammo can came from.

"We don’t know what’s at the landfill," Sullivan said. "Anyone can dump anything. So, really increasing the safety on our trips to the landfill is going to be very important. Not picking up random things that you see, obviously, but mistakes happen. It’s very hard to avoid something like this. I’m just looking for the best for my employees and making sure he’s alright."

Sullivan said they've never had something like this happen.

"Incredibly scary," he said. "I know our employee is totally fine. No serious injuries. He’s got some bruising on his stomach."

"If you’re using any sort of junk removal company, obviously you need to disclose exactly what’s being removed," Sullivan said. "Something that might not seem hazardous to someone like a homeowner, is hazardous to the landfill."

The sheriff's office said the landfill continued normal operations on Tuesday. No further details have been released, as the investigation is ongoing.