Related: Around New England: Terrorists Attack Connecticut Gas Plant
Globe Leaking Gas in Connecticut
Around New England: Globe Cuts the Connecticut Cheese
You know what is coming next -- and deservedly so!
"Workers sue Conn. plant over fatal blast; Say firms ignored safety procedures" by John Christoffersen, Associated Press | February 23, 2010
NEW HAVEN - Two workers injured in a power plant explosion filed a lawsuit yesterday alleging that proper safety procedures were not followed, and an attorney said that included live electricity running through the site, workers welding, and a gas-fueled torch heater running when the blast happened.
The enormous blast ripped apart the nearly completed Kleen Energy Systems plant Feb. 7 in Middletown as workers for O&G Industries Inc. purged a natural gas line. Six workers were killed and 20 were injured....
The men suffered post-concussion syndrome, Joel T. Faxon, an attorney representing the workers, compared the experience to that of soldiers injured by explosive devices.
Authorities are still investigating the cause of the blast and whether there was criminal negligence.
What can be taking so long? Everyone knows it was.
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NEW HAVEN - Authorities investigating the cause of a power plant explosion in Connecticut that killed six workers say they’ve obtained an additional search warrant for the site.
The new warrant allows investigators to seize and analyze evidence found using the original search warrant, which expired Tuesday.
Authorities have called it a gas explosion but say the cause and origin have not been definitively determined....
Why do I smell a cover-up?
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"US says Conn. explosion due to unsafe gas buildup; Investigator urges practice be curbed" by Stephanie Reitz, Associated Press | February 26, 2010
MIDDLETOWN, Conn. - An industrial practice that involved the widespread release of natural gas at a Connecticut power plant shortly before it exploded is “inherently unsafe’’ and should be curbed to prevent similar incidents, a federal safety investigator said yesterday.
Six people were killed in the Feb. 7 explosion at the Kleen Energy Systems plant, where workers were cleaning pipes in a common procedure known as a gas blow.
The 400,000 cubic feet of natural gas blown through the pipes was released into the air in tight quarters, creating an explosive mixture large enough to fill a professional basketball arena, said Donald Holmstrom, lead investigator for the US Chemical Safety Board.
It's not funny. People died.
With the United States building more natural gas power plants, he said, it is important to develop standards and new methods - such as cleaning pipes with air, steam, or other substances - to prevent similar accidents.
Maybe we ought to RETHINK THAT!
“Thousands and thousands of workers across the country will be involved in constructing these plants. The safety of these workers and the nation’s energy independence are at stake as these gas-fired plants are built over the next 20 years,’’ he said.
Gas and nuke plants to solve our energy needs, great.
The Middletown explosion comes as power generators are increasingly relying on natural gas to produce electricity because it is plentiful and cleaner than coal, and the use of gas is growing to power factories and heat homes....
All of a sudden I don't like them coming here.
The explosion ripped apart the nearly completed 620-megawatt Kleen Energy Systems plant as workers for O&G Industries Inc. purged the gas line.
Exactly what sparked the blast has not been determined, though Holmstrom said there were several potential ignition sources nearby.
He would not say what they were, but said that in general, natural gas can be sparked by anything from welders’ tools and electrical devices to static electricity.
Several other industrial accidents involving natural gas have occurred in recent years, including one that killed four people last year the
The Middletown blast, heard and felt for miles, occurred about an hour after some workers at the site complained of a heavy gas smell.
Then it IS CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE!!!
While some victims’ relatives and blast survivors questioned safety standards at the plant and workers’ long hours, other workers said the job was handled safely. The plant was scheduled to begin operation in June.
The Chemical Safety Board investigates serious chemical accidents. State and local authorities have interviewed survivors and sifted through debris for evidence as they conduct a separate investigation into whether there was any criminal negligence.
Holmstrom said the board is examining how the accident could have been prevented; determining exactly what ignited the gas at the Middletown plant is not a major focus of the its investigation.
“Our focus is not on finding out blame,’’ Holmstrom said.
Great, another cover-up commission.
So how long is it going to take?
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Related: Mass held for victims of Conn. plant explosion
"Conn. blast victims want site preserved" by Pat Eaton-Robb, Associated Press Writer | March 1, 2010
HARTFORD, Conn. --Lawyers for survivors and the family of a victim of the Connecticut power plant explosion filed paperwork Monday seeking a court order to preserve the site in Middletown so their own experts can examine it....
Attorneys Robert Reardon Jr. and M. Hatcher Norris said they are asking a state Superior Court judge to preserve the site for another 30 days so they can determine who might be at fault.
"They have to protect the evidence because the civil plaintiffs have rights here to examine what that evidence is and possibly do testing on the evidence before it should be altered in any way," Reardon said....
State says they are done with the site so wtf is up with the investigation?
It's enough to drive you ape, readers.
"Officer asks benefits after shooting chimp
A Connecticut police officer said he plunged into “a depression beyond depression’’ after shooting a rampaging chimpanzee last year. Frank Chiafari told lawmakers yesterday that he was traumatized by seeing a woman mauled and the fact he came close to being the next victim of an animal he called a “monster.’’ Chiafari made his first public appearance since the attack to testify before the state Labor and Public Employees Committee. The 53-year-old officer asked the committee to consider a bill that would allow officers who are required to use deadly force on animals to file workers’ compensation claims. Chiafari says he never experienced post-traumatic stress in his 25 years as an officer until his encounter with the chimpanzee (AP)."
