Court Rules Middletown Police Share Evidence With Safety Inspectors

A Middletown Superior Court judge ruled today Middletown Police will give federal safety investigators access to a combustible gas detector that may have been used just before the deadly explosion at the Kleen Energy site in February. WNPR’s Nancy Cohen reports

The gas detector has a microchip that may contain information on gas levels just before the explosion. The Middletown Police, which is also investigating the incident, wants to protect the way the gas detector is handled, should it be used as evidence in a future a criminal or civil case.

Today, Judge Robert Holzberg ruled the Chemical Safety Board could have the unit tested by the National Transportation Safety Board. Any data collected will be shared with the Middletown police, the attorneys representing workers families, company lawyers and others. Chemical Safety Board Lead Investigator Donald Holmstrom says it was a good day for public safety:

“I think it was a day that emphasized that safety and criminal prosecution are not at odds with each other. They're two important missions. Both missions can be accomplished without one be emphasized at the expense of the other.”

Middletown Police are still considering whether to bring criminal charges in the case. The Chemical Safety Board is developing urgent recommendations to prevent dangerous gas blows in the future. The deadly explosion occurred when workers were blowing gas to clean a large piping system at the power plant construction site.

For WNPR I’m Nancy Cohen.