The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today proposed to fine three companies $16 million for a total of 371 safety violations that led to the tragic explosion at the Kleen Energy power plant in Middletown, Conn. The tragedy took the lives of six workers and left 50 others injured. The fine, one of the largest ever levied by OSHA, followed an extensive workplace safety investigation into the February 7th explosion. In response to the matter, Labor Secretary Solis stated:
The Workforce Protections Subcommittee of House Education and Labor Committee convened a hearing in Middletown, Conn. with Middletown officials, safety experts, and family members of those who were lost. The panel determined that the explosion “could have been prevented if there were clear national safety protections”.
The Hartford Courant reported today on the unsafe conditions leading up to the explosion that were uncovered by OSHA – the plant owners pressured construction employees to work at a breakneck pace due to considerable financial incentives:
Chairman George Miller and Rep. Lynn Woolsey, chairwoman of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, also responded to OSHA’s report, stating:
"The millions of dollars in fines levied pale in comparison to the value of the six lives lost and numerous other lives disrupted…However, the fines and penalties reflect the gravity and severity of the deadly conditions created by the companies managing the work at the site. No operation and no deadline is worth cutting common sense safety procedures. Workers should not sacrifice their lives for their livelihoods.”
The Workforce Protections Subcommittee of House Education and Labor Committee convened a hearing in Middletown, Conn. with Middletown officials, safety experts, and family members of those who were lost. The panel determined that the explosion “could have been prevented if there were clear national safety protections”.
The Hartford Courant reported today on the unsafe conditions leading up to the explosion that were uncovered by OSHA – the plant owners pressured construction employees to work at a breakneck pace due to considerable financial incentives:
“O&G Industries of Torrington stood to gain a $19 million incentive if it finished construction early on the Kleen Energy plant in Middletown, federal officials said as they issued $16 million in fines to O&G and other firms for the Feb. 7 explosion at the plant that killed six workers and injured several dozen.”
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“The Courant has reported that workers were logging 84-hour weeks at the plant in the days and weeks leading up to the natural gas explosion, and the owners were pressing for a May/June opening – five months before regulators expected the plant to be ready.”
Chairman George Miller and Rep. Lynn Woolsey, chairwoman of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, also responded to OSHA’s report, stating:
“The Kleen Energy explosion is just another example of the tragic results of putting production, in this case completing construction, ahead of safety. OSHA’s significant proposed fine for safety violations resulting in the deaths of six workers should be a wakeup call for those who callously disregard accepted safety practices in order to meet deadlines.”