Congressional Hearing On Middletown Explosion

The Congressional Workforce Protections Subcommittee held a hearing today in Middletown on the gas explosion that killed six workers last February. WNPR’s Nancy Cohen reports.

One of those workers was 42 year old Ron Crabb. His wife, Jodi Thomas, told the committee she and Ron’s two sons are experiencing profound heart ache.

"Most of all I just loved him with all my heart. The manner and cause of Ron’s death has compounded our family’s grief. This tragedy should never ever have happened. This is why I urge you please do not to allow Ron's death to be in vain."

Thomas said something the experts would later repeat: the accident was preventable. The explosion occurred just after workers blew natural gas at very high pressure through pipes to clean them, a common practice used to remove debris from pipes before installing them at power plants. Debris could damage the costly turbines that generate electricIty. But the U.S. Chemical Safety Board says gas blows like this are unsafe.

Congressman Chris Murphy asked Glenn Corbett of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice why safer methods aren’t used such as blowing compressed air or using a mechanical cleaning device, known as a "pig".

"Is it an issue of effectiveness versus the other potential technologies why is gas so prevalent?." asked Murphy.

Corbett answered, "All I can say is I think it comes down to cost because the gas is already there. You talk about doing mechanical pigs or using compressed air, nitrogen, what have you. All those things are additional work and time and money."

The experts also discussed which agency should issue new safety rules. That could take OSHA three to five years. Judge Alan Nevis, who chaired the Governor's panel on the explosion wants the Connecticut Siting Council to insert safety requirements into new permits, including one Kleen Energy needs this fall. This could protect workers in Connecticut, but not the rest of the country.

For WNPR, I’m Nancy Cohen.

UPDATE:

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board has issued what it calls "urgent safety recommendations" to prevent accidents, like the one at Kleen Energy, from happening again.

The CSB says there are no federal safety standards or codes prohibiting the intentional release of natural gas at workplaces. The explosion at Kleen Energy occurred minutes after large volumes of natural gas were blown through pipes at very high pressure and released into the atmosphere. The Board says although the gas was vented outside, it was released into a highly congested area, with ignition sources nearby.

The CSB reports there was no safety meeting held to discuss the gas blow or to review procedures at the Kleen Energy site on February 7th.

The Chemical Safety Board is urging OSHA , The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, to ban the release of natural gas both indoors and outdoors at work sites for the purpose of cleaning fuel gas pipes. But the former chair of the Board, John Bresland, also said that it could take OSHA five years to develop new regulations.

The CSB is also calling on the National Fire Protection Association to change the National Fuel Gas Code so it addresses cleaning pipes at power plants. It is urging the NFPA to recommend cleaning fuel gas pipes with air or using a mechanical device, known as a pig, with air.

In addition, the Chemical Safety Board is calling on companies that produce turbines at gas plants, including General Electric and Siemens, to warn their customers against using natural gas to clean pipes.

The CSB also recommended that the State of Connecticut enact legislation prohibiting using natural gas, that is released into the atmosphere, to clean fuel pipes.