2010 Connecticut power plant explosion
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The 2010 Connecticut power plant explosion occurred at the Kleen Energy Systems
power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many p ...
in Middletown,
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
,
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
at 11:17 am  EST on February 7, 2010. The plant had been under construction from September 2007, and was scheduled to start supplying energy in June 2010. The initial blast killed five and injured at least fifty; one of the injured later died in hospital, bringing the total death toll to six.


Explosion

The blast at the ,
Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...
combined cycle A combined cycle power plant is an assembly of heat engines that work in tandem from the same source of heat, converting it into mechanical energy. On land, when used to make electricity the most common type is called a combined cycle gas turb ...
gas and oil-fired power plant occurred at 11:17 am, and was reported at 11:25 am EST. The plant's manager, Gordon Holk, said that contractors and other workers from O & G Industries, Ducci Electric, and Keystone Construction and Maintenance Services were at the site when the blast occurred. The explosion occurred at the rear of the largest building, the turbine hall, which was destroyed. Some residents reported "earthquake-like tremors" from at least away, although the blast proved not to be seismically detectable. Another resident of the area felt that it was more like a
sonic boom A sonic boom is a sound associated with shock waves created when an object travels through the air faster than the speed of sound. Sonic booms generate enormous amounts of sound energy, sounding similar to an explosion or a thunderclap to t ...
.


Possible causes

According to authorities, neither terrorism or an intentional crime was the cause of the explosion, though criminal negligence was being investigated. A neighbor of the plant said that there was
natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
stored there, which was later said to be related to the explosion. Flames were reported to have been coming from a gas pipe until the gas was shut off. The local fire marshal said the explosion was the result of an attempted purging of natural gas from a pipeline as a test, a procedure known as a blow-down, and according to a state official who had been briefed on the incident, the explosion had been sparked by a "flame device," possibly a propane heater. The president of the Connecticut
AFL–CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million ac ...
, however, disagreed with this explanation, saying it was more likely that an inadvertent spark had caused the explosion, rather than an open flame.


Reaction and follow-up

Middletown deputy
fire marshal A fire marshal, in the United States and Canada, is often a member of a state, provincial or territorial government, but may be part of a building department or a separate department altogether. Fire marshals' duties vary but usually in ...
Al Santostefano later said that there had been fewer than 50 people injured, as some of the workers had made it out alive, and that there were no signs of life in the ruins of the plant. At least 12 of the injured were treated at local hospitals. Emergency personnel and almost 20
ambulance An ambulance is a medically equipped vehicle which transports patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport. Ambulances are used to respond to medi ...
s were at the scene shortly after the blast occurred, using
helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
s to transport victims while
search-and-rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...
crews with dogs scoured the rubble. Middlesex Hospital in Middletown said it was receiving patients from the blast. At least one victim was also taken to Hartford Hospital. By 1:30pm local time, at least 100 firefighters were at the scene and the fire had been extinguished. Connecticut governor
M. Jodi Rell Mary Carolyn "Jodi" Rell (née Reavis; born June 16, 1946) is an American former Republican politician and the 87th governor of Connecticut from 2004 until 2011. Rell also served as the state's 105th lieutenant governor of Connecticut. Rell was C ...
was being briefed by authorities and opened the state's emergency management center, and she later traveled to the scene of the explosion.
Connecticut State Police The Connecticut State Police (CSP) is a division of the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection responsible for traffic regulation and law enforcement across the state of Connecticut, especially in areas not served by ...
said they were sending detectives to investigate the explosion. Rescue officials at the plant turned away reporters because
hazardous material Dangerous goods, abbreviated DG, are substances that when transported are a risk to health, safety, property or the environment. Certain dangerous goods that pose risks even when not being transported are known as hazardous materials ( syllabi ...
leakage was possible. Nearby hospitals and surrounding states also offered to aid in the rescue process. The
Joint Terrorism Task Force In the United States, the Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTF) are locally-based multi-agency partnerships between various federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies tasked with investigating terrorism and terrorism-related crimes, led by the ...
also arrived at the site of the explosion but were only there to monitor, as local and state officials were handling the investigation. The federal
Chemical Safety Board The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (USCSB), generally referred to as the Chemical Safety Board or CSB, is an independent U.S. federal agency charged with investigating industrial chemical accidents. Headquartered in Washingt ...
deployed a seven-person team to the site, which was expected to be on the scene by Monday, February 8, but was later prohibited from entering the site. The mayor of Middletown said the plant will ultimately be rebuilt, a statement that was confirmed by a Kleen Energy official, who said that construction would resume once the investigation into the incident was completed. In February 2011, it was announced that Kleen Energy and O&G Industries will build a memorial park to honor those who died or were injured during the blast. The plant underwent extensive repairs during the remainder of 2010 and early 2011, and is scheduled to open in April 2011.


Investigation

The investigation into the incident started the day after the explosion, and was conducted by agencies at the local, state and federal levels. It was expected to focus on whether human error or insufficient safety protocols were at fault. In particular, according to the local fire marshal, the investigation was to look at whether electricity was cut off from the area, whether workers had been evacuated before the purging of the gas line, and whether ignition sources were present. Several days before the explosion, the
Chemical Safety Board The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (USCSB), generally referred to as the Chemical Safety Board or CSB, is an independent U.S. federal agency charged with investigating industrial chemical accidents. Headquartered in Washingt ...
had approved new recommendations on gas line purging in the United States following an explosion at a food manufacturing plant in
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
in 2009 that killed four people. Despite the Board's interest in the case, a spokesman said on February 9 that their team of investigators was being denied entrance to the site of the explosion, on the grounds that the area was a crime scene. (The Chemical Safety Board did eventually deploy a team of ten investigators to the site.) The USCSB also released a video documenting their investigation. On August 5, 2010, the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration The Occupational Safety and Health Administration'' (OSHA ) is a large regulatory agency of the United States Department of Labor that originally had federal visitorial powers to inspect and examine workplaces. Congress established the agenc ...
(OSHA) announced that it planned to fine seventeen companies involved in the construction of the plant a total of $16.6 million. OSHA said that it had found a total of 371 safety violations in the construction of the plant, 225 of which it considered deliberate. The Chemical Safety Board released its final report on June 28, 2010.


References


External links


Kleen Energy site proposal (doc)Siemens Combined Cycle Power Plants
{{DEFAULTSORT:Connecticut power plant explosion Connecticut power plant Power plant explosion Explosions in 2010 Explosions in the United States Middletown, Connecticut February 2010 events in the United States Gas explosions in the United States