What in the world is going on in Middletown, CT?
A power plant under construction explodes Feb. 7 killing five workers and the mayor of the Podunk hamlet of 47,483 -- located along In
terstate 91in central Connecticut between New Haven and Hartford whose major asset is Wesleyan University -- stops the U.S. Chemical Safety Board from entering the plant to conduct a federal investigation.
How do you stop the CSB at the front gate? As a relatively new federal agency created by the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 to investigate and report on the root causes of chemical industrial incidents, the independent agency enjoys a solid reputation in Washington for pushing recommendations that have helped to enhance worker and plant safety. While lacking the hammer of an OSHA, EPA or Mine Safety and Health Administration to cite and fine companies as an enforcement agency, the CSB nonetheless has advanced its mission over the years by diligently educating stakeholders and the public about dangerous occurrences at industrial sites – reference its recent investigations of deadly explosions at BP in Texas City, TX and Imperial Sugar in Wentworth, GA.
Mayor Claims Criminal Investigation
But when CSB investigators showed up with their considerable federal mandate to the site of the Kleen Energy Systems plant in Middletown, Mayor Sebastian N. Giuliano turned them away, claiming jurisdiction for his police department to conduct a criminal investigation of the blast. On Feb. 9, the mayor issued a press release identifying something called the South Fire District “as the lead agency” investigating the disaster and working collectively with local, state and federal agencies.
No disregard to the certainly fine fire officials of Middletown, but the Mayor’s actions don’t pass the smell test as a reason for holding off the CSB from entering the $985 million power plant, a the 620-megawatt facility that was scheduled to go operational in June. Imagine a municipal government turning away the National Transportation Safety Board away from the site of a plane crash or the derailment of subway trains, like what happened in Washington last June when nine people were killed in a Metro accident.
The state’s governor, M. Jodi Rell, further announced she was empowering two panels two panels to investigate the cause of the event and to review Connecticut’s safety apparatus to determine if changes are needed. That is all well and good, but the point of the federal CSB investigation is to determine what happened and offer recommendations so it doesn’t happen somewhere else in the country.
The greater sin of Giuliano’s actions is that the Kleen Energy Systems plant is a workplace. Some 114 people were working at the plant on the day of the blast, and federal law through the Occupational Safety and Health Act is mandated to provide protection for those workers from dangerous conditions. Apparently, at the time of the blast, workers were clearing gas lines.
Compromising the Investigation
The CSB expressed concern that the delay would compromise its investigation. "The CSB investigation has been marginalized at the site," spokesman Daniel Horowitz said, as reported in the Hartford Courant. "In effect, the experts in these type of accidents have been kept out of the investigation."
Giuliano, however, took the unusual stance of claiming that the CSB would be “in the way” and curiously said that OSHA and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosions “don’t want them up there,” according to a New York Times report.
OSHA and the CSB have clashed in the past over policy differences resulting from CSB investigations, but the mayor appeared to be trying to stoke a non-issue. OSHA with its more than $500 million budgetary authority, statutory enforcement powers, manpower and resources certainly would not be put off by the work of 10 CSB investigators coming to the plant.
In Washington parlance, the CSB can’t hold a candle to OSHA’s might and influence. OSHA's job in the investigation is to determine if federal workplace standards were violated. The CSB's primary function is to determine the cause of the blast.
What is disturbing about the episode is that, according to the Hartford Courant report, the Middletown police removed security cameras, gas analyzers and some of the gas cylinders that had been used for welding and other operations around the blast site. Equally disturbing are reports that the contractor clearing the gas lines before the blast was allowed unfettered access to the site.
Unprecedented Action
What is unprecedented is the turning away of duly appointed federal investigators from the scene of a deadly industrial accident – even if temporarily. It is not like CSB personnel runs roughshod over an investigation. They are trained engineers and industrials investigators and typically work hand in hand with state and local officials to get to the bottom line of an event.
Just days earlier, on Feb. 4, the CSB issued urgent recommendations that the national fuel gas codes be changed to improve safety when gas pipes are being purged - cleared of air - during maintenance or the installation of new piping. Those recommendations resulted from the CSB’s investigation into a June 9, 2009, natural gas explosion at the ConAgra Slim Jim production facility in Garner, North Carolina that caused four deaths and 67 injuries.
While CSB investigators eventually were allowed in the plant by Middletown police, they still were not given the leeway to interview witnesses and fully conduct their probe.
It was reported that the CSB was considering its options in the wake of Middletown’s actions, including pursuing obstruction of justice charges against state and local officials with the U.S. Department of Justice. Giuliano, Middletown mayor since 2005, may have been acting in what he thought was in the best interests of his constituents, but why stymie the interests, resources and expertise of trained CSB investigators?
Perhaps Congress, in its wisdom to create the agency, needs to empower the CSB further to bring along a cadre of FBI agents next time so it can get going with its vital work.
A power plant under construction explodes Feb. 7 killing five workers and the mayor of the Podunk hamlet of 47,483 -- located along In
terstate 91in central Connecticut between New Haven and Hartford whose major asset is Wesleyan University -- stops the U.S. Chemical Safety Board from entering the plant to conduct a federal investigation.How do you stop the CSB at the front gate? As a relatively new federal agency created by the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 to investigate and report on the root causes of chemical industrial incidents, the independent agency enjoys a solid reputation in Washington for pushing recommendations that have helped to enhance worker and plant safety. While lacking the hammer of an OSHA, EPA or Mine Safety and Health Administration to cite and fine companies as an enforcement agency, the CSB nonetheless has advanced its mission over the years by diligently educating stakeholders and the public about dangerous occurrences at industrial sites – reference its recent investigations of deadly explosions at BP in Texas City, TX and Imperial Sugar in Wentworth, GA.
Mayor Claims Criminal Investigation
But when CSB investigators showed up with their considerable federal mandate to the site of the Kleen Energy Systems plant in Middletown, Mayor Sebastian N. Giuliano turned them away, claiming jurisdiction for his police department to conduct a criminal investigation of the blast. On Feb. 9, the mayor issued a press release identifying something called the South Fire District “as the lead agency” investigating the disaster and working collectively with local, state and federal agencies.
No disregard to the certainly fine fire officials of Middletown, but the Mayor’s actions don’t pass the smell test as a reason for holding off the CSB from entering the $985 million power plant, a the 620-megawatt facility that was scheduled to go operational in June. Imagine a municipal government turning away the National Transportation Safety Board away from the site of a plane crash or the derailment of subway trains, like what happened in Washington last June when nine people were killed in a Metro accident.
The state’s governor, M. Jodi Rell, further announced she was empowering two panels two panels to investigate the cause of the event and to review Connecticut’s safety apparatus to determine if changes are needed. That is all well and good, but the point of the federal CSB investigation is to determine what happened and offer recommendations so it doesn’t happen somewhere else in the country.
The greater sin of Giuliano’s actions is that the Kleen Energy Systems plant is a workplace. Some 114 people were working at the plant on the day of the blast, and federal law through the Occupational Safety and Health Act is mandated to provide protection for those workers from dangerous conditions. Apparently, at the time of the blast, workers were clearing gas lines.
Compromising the Investigation
The CSB expressed concern that the delay would compromise its investigation. "The CSB investigation has been marginalized at the site," spokesman Daniel Horowitz said, as reported in the Hartford Courant. "In effect, the experts in these type of accidents have been kept out of the investigation."
Giuliano, however, took the unusual stance of claiming that the CSB would be “in the way” and curiously said that OSHA and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosions “don’t want them up there,” according to a New York Times report.
OSHA and the CSB have clashed in the past over policy differences resulting from CSB investigations, but the mayor appeared to be trying to stoke a non-issue. OSHA with its more than $500 million budgetary authority, statutory enforcement powers, manpower and resources certainly would not be put off by the work of 10 CSB investigators coming to the plant.
In Washington parlance, the CSB can’t hold a candle to OSHA’s might and influence. OSHA's job in the investigation is to determine if federal workplace standards were violated. The CSB's primary function is to determine the cause of the blast.
What is disturbing about the episode is that, according to the Hartford Courant report, the Middletown police removed security cameras, gas analyzers and some of the gas cylinders that had been used for welding and other operations around the blast site. Equally disturbing are reports that the contractor clearing the gas lines before the blast was allowed unfettered access to the site.
Unprecedented Action
What is unprecedented is the turning away of duly appointed federal investigators from the scene of a deadly industrial accident – even if temporarily. It is not like CSB personnel runs roughshod over an investigation. They are trained engineers and industrials investigators and typically work hand in hand with state and local officials to get to the bottom line of an event.
Just days earlier, on Feb. 4, the CSB issued urgent recommendations that the national fuel gas codes be changed to improve safety when gas pipes are being purged - cleared of air - during maintenance or the installation of new piping. Those recommendations resulted from the CSB’s investigation into a June 9, 2009, natural gas explosion at the ConAgra Slim Jim production facility in Garner, North Carolina that caused four deaths and 67 injuries.
While CSB investigators eventually were allowed in the plant by Middletown police, they still were not given the leeway to interview witnesses and fully conduct their probe.
It was reported that the CSB was considering its options in the wake of Middletown’s actions, including pursuing obstruction of justice charges against state and local officials with the U.S. Department of Justice. Giuliano, Middletown mayor since 2005, may have been acting in what he thought was in the best interests of his constituents, but why stymie the interests, resources and expertise of trained CSB investigators?
Perhaps Congress, in its wisdom to create the agency, needs to empower the CSB further to bring along a cadre of FBI agents next time so it can get going with its vital work.
Photos: Kleen Energy Systems Middletown plant, Hartford Courant; Middletown Mayor Sebastian Giuliano, cityofmiddletown.com
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