Legalectric

The story of the explosion at the Wabash River coal gasification continues to unfold. The two men killed were identified as Danny Turner and David Shoemaker. Terre Haute News has this report:

The two men, members of Boilermakers Local 374, were working about 150 feet in the air on the eighth deck of a coal gasifier, which is used in the process of turning coal into gas. The men were tightening bolts on the flanged opening, similar to a manhole cover, when the flange failed, causing an explosion, said Richard Payonk, plant manager.

“Our process runs at 400 pounds of pressure producing a synthetic gas, and consequently, when that flanged opening failed, it did release the contents of the gasification facility,” Payonk said. “At 400 pounds of pressure, that is a fairly violent release.

“At this time, we don’t have further information on the cause or root cause of that particular failure; that will come out in the investigation in days to come.

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From a cohort in the know about gasifiers and emissions:

Welcome to the world of high pressure reducing gasification. That’s why I mentioned this possibility before. They call it an “explosion”, but it sounds more like a massive pressure release instead. What’s interesting is that they failed to disclose that while the “roar” continued for “5 minutes”, it was releasing 45-60% CO to the environment. If there had been a temperature inversion and low winds, many more people would have died within the “1/2 mile” radius they checked. MSI has this type of gasifier for DRI,and of course Mesaba I alone would be three to six times larger than Wabash (depends on standby status).

See if you can find out the cause of death of the workers. It might be (instant) CO poisoning (a much more typical accident unless there was a fire too).

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Emergency response has always been a primary concern of Ron Gustafson, a member of mncoalgasplant.com, my client in our opposition to the Excelsior Energy proposal for the Mesaba IGCC project. He works on emergency response issues professionally, and knows enough about the inherent dangers and probabilities to challenge the adequacy of their plan, equipment, training, and funding for emergency response at the proposed Mesaba Project plant. In this case, the plant was evacuated, local responders were called, and the blast was felt miles away from the plant. We’ll learn more about what happened and what was required of first responders in the coming weeks. It sounds like plant management did all they could in a bad situation. As to causation, I’m wondering what the problem was they were working on, if there’s been a history of corrosion, bolt cracking or similar failures, and then why they were up there in the first place, tightening bolts, indicating that they were loose, when the plant was running.

Update on the explosion at the Wabash River IGCC coal gasification plant. This article from the Frankfort Times says that a metal fitting broke, pressurized gas leaked and ignited:

Explosion Kills 2 at Indiana Plant That Turns Coal Into Gas

Monday, April 28, 2008

WEST TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) – A leak at a plant that turns coal into gas in western Indiana caused an explosion that killed two workers Monday, authorities said.

The explosion at the SG Solutions coal gasification plant occurred just before 11 a.m. when a metal fitting broke and released pressurized gas, plant manager Richard Payonk said. The gas ignited immediately.

Production at the plant stopped immediately after the explosion pending an investigation.

The workers who died were employees of Evansville, Ind.-based Sterling Boiler & Mechanical Inc. Payonk said about 15 to 20 Sterling employees work at the facility each day, and many are from the Terre Haute area.

The victims’ identities were being withheld pending notification of next of kin, Payonk said.

Sterling Boiler Controller Ken Wahl declined comment Monday beyond a company statement. In it, Sterling Boiler officials acknowledged the accident and offered condolences to the workers’ families.

Payonk said it is too early to know what might have caused the leak.

‘We will determine the nature of the failure and what occurred,’ he said. ‘And we will put corrective actions in place based upon what we can find.’

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Thanks to John Blair for sending around this head up about the coal gasification plant at Wabash River … more as it appears. Looks like a gasifier blew. This one has a video too:

Explosion at SG Solutions in Terre Haute

Posted: April 28, 2008 10:21 AM

Updated: April 28, 2008 05:14 PM

VIGO COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) – Just before 11 a.m. Monday an explosion at the SG Solutions Coal Gasification Plant killed two people. Black smoke poured from the plant which is located near the Duke Energy power plant in northwestern Vigo County off of State Road 63.

Ed Utterback, who lives near the plant told News 10 “I’ve lived here since 1957 and I’m accustomed to the power plant periodically blowing down the boilers and it sounds like steam being released… [T]oday it sounded much louder with a little bit of rumble to it and lasted much longer, maybe a minute and a half or two minutes.”

Power plant officials say two men from Sterling Boiler Local 374 were working on an opening of one of the gasification units when it opening exploded. The men were said to be tighting bolts from nearly 150 feet in the air when the explosion occurred.

Richard Payonk, the plant manager of SG Solution announced in an afternoon press conference “To our knowledge they were tightening bolts on this particular flanged opening on the gasifier. Beyond that, I would be speculating on what occurred and how it occurred, except that we do know in hindsight that the opening did fail and come off, yes.”

Parts of the plant were immediately shut down as rescue crews raced to the scene. According to the Vigo County Sheriff’s Department, the fire from the explosion was out before fire crews ever arrived.

The names of both men killed in the explosion have not been released yet, pending notification of family.

John Sisco, a man who says he knew both victims, expressed his anguish to News 10. “What can you say? There’s nothing you can say. It’s just tragic and so sad. These guys were top notch, Grade A boilermakers,” Sisco said. “Great people, great people to be around. And it’s just tragic. It’s a tragic loss and it’s a shame that it happened.” Sisco wanted folks to know “The prayers of every single worker at this facility are with them entirely. These were our close friends as well and we feel we’ve lost family members as well here very much so. It’s a very sad day for that.”

Federal state and local officials are still investigating the exact cause of the explosion. Hamilton Center sent counselors to the power plant to help workers deal with the accident.

By: Joe Stoll and Susan Dinkel WTHI-TV

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Production at coke gasification to resume after investigation

Press Release

TERRE HAUTE, IND.—SG Solutions plant manager, Richard Payonk, addressed the media this afternoon following a fatal accident at its pet coke gasification plant in Terre Haute, Ind. Two contractors employed by Sterling Boiler & Mechanical, Inc. were killed.

The accident occurred at SG Solutions just before 11 a.m. today when a flanged opening on a high pressure vessel containing synthetic gas failed. Federal, state and local officials have been notified, and the investigation is ongoing. There is no danger to those nearby the plant.

“The safety of our workers and contractors is our top concern, and we’re vested in working with officials to find the cause of the accident and to make sure we’ve done everything in our power to prevent future accidents from occurring,” plant manager, Richard Payonk said.

Sterling Boiler Controller Ken Wahl issued a written statement this afternoon stating: “Sterling is assisting local authorities in every way possible in determining the cause of the explosion,” the statement said. “Our hearts and prayers are with the families of these individuals.”

Production at the plant stopped immediately following the incident and will resume once an investigation is concluded and all safety procedures are evaluated. Prior to today’s incident the facility had experienced no fatalities since opening in 1995. Wabash Valley Power owns 50 percent of SG Solutions, which operates the gasification plant that transforms petroleum coke into synthetic natural gas.

Wabash Valley Power is a generation and transmission cooperative (G&T) headquartered in Indianapolis. The G&T provides wholesale electricity to 28 electric distribution cooperatives in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri and Ohio. Collectively, they serve more than 350,000 homes, farms, businesses and industries. SG Solutions is a national leader in the development of synthetic gas for use in the generation of electricity for homes and businesses.

As one of only two Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) facilities in the United States, SG Solutions has received national recognition as a flagship project of the Department of Energy Clean Coal Program. Source: SG Solutions

Stolen from Hansen’s site (click here)

Dr. Hansen to Gov. Pawlenty — stop Big Stone II!!

It was all over the news yesterday, Dr. James Hansen, global warming expert, delivered a missive to the Green Chameleon, Tim Pawlenty, to act on global warming and stop the Big Stone II coal plant:

Letter to Pawlenty from Dr. James E. Hansen

Here’s a few choice quotes, highlighting how far the Green Chameleon’s policies are from what’s necessary:

“Grandfathering” of fossil fuel plants and any ineffectual “cap and trade” scheme, should it be initiated, will necessarily be replaced by “cap and bulldoze”. Coal use must be eliminated unless and until technology is available with near-zero emissions.

and:

Governor Pawlenty, building Big Stone II, a conventional coal-fired power plant would expose ratepayers and Minnesota to grave financial risk. Steeply rising construction costs and coal prices are themselves ratcheting up the cost of coal-fired electricity, and sure-to-appear legislation that demands elimination of CO2 emissions will drive costs much higher. Any assumption about possibly retrofitting the plant for CO2 capture is a dubious and financially risky proposition.

and:

Specifically, a strong clear public statement by you against proceeding with construction of Big Stone II could be a turning point for Minnesota. It would provide a boost toward a future focused on renewable energies and energy efficiency, and the high-quality jobs that will be associated with that direction. Big Stone II, in contrast, poses severe risks for Minnesotans due to escalating capital costs, penalties for uncaptured CO2 emissions, and environmental damage from changing climate as well as regional pollutants such as mercury.

Here is an article yesterday from the West Central Tribune in Willmar:

NASA scientist asking Pawlenty to stop Big Stone II power plant project

and in the STrib:

Top scientist objects to coal-based power plant

and on MPR:

NASA scientist asks Pawlenty to oppose coal power

The link was on the Fresh Energy site and they held a press conference and here’s their press release — good job all around! Great news coverage!

You can find Dr. Hansen’s papers HERE.

Question — why is it that it takes someone from NASA to do what each of us should be doing… holding Pawlenty, the Green Chameleon, accountable!! THIS ISN’T ROCKET SCIENCE — this is a simple matter of knowing what it takes to cut CO2 emissions. Cutting CO2 emissions won’t happen by allowing 10 million tons annually! You have to CUT them… how much will it take to undo that 10 million ton nod to coal? When you’ve got toadies on parade, those “environmental” members of the Green Chameleon’s Gasbags who want to exempt Big Stone II and Mesaba from CO2 regulation, what gives?

GREENHOUSE GASBAGS – MCCAG MEMBERS

Why are they doing that and not holding Pawlenty accountable and demanding ACTION, not just yammering. I get so tired of all this hot air about global warming. Let’s take a cue from Hanson, do our share, and let Pawlenty know what we think. First, send in comments on the Climate Change Action Group recommendations:

HERE’S THE REPORT – in small pieces

CLICK HERE FOR PAIN IN THE ASS COMMENT FORM

Just for yucks, and to make sure they go in (there’s been problems with the “comment form” system), send to:

edward.garvey@state.mn.us

david.thornton@state.mn.us

And then call Pawlenty and tell him what you think. From his site:

To contact Governor Tim Pawlenty and Lt. Governor Carol Molnau, please write, phone, fax or e-mail.

Governor Tim Pawlenty

Office of the Governor
130 State Capitol
75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55155

Telephone: (651) 296-3391
Toll Free: (800) 657-3717
Facsimile: (651) 296-2089
E-mail: tim.pawlenty@state.mn.us

So, that’ll keep ya busy for a while!

(stolen from Jack Markell’s site)

A report on Delaware cancer clusters has finally been made public.  First was disclosure of a cancer cluster surrounding NRG’s Indian River Power Plant.  Now eight clusters have been disclosed.

Here’s the report:

Average Annual Age Adjusted Cancer Incidence Rates

Today’s paper has a few articles about it — is anyone paying attention?

Eight cancer clusters discovered in Delaware

But just as the Millsboro-area findings led activists and residents to suspect pollution as the main culprit, so did the new report.

Sen. David McBride, a Democrat who represents the Hares Corner and Wilmington Manor areas — part of the New Castle region, with inflated rates of lung cancer, prostate cancer and all cancers combined — said he suspects the high rates stem from the area’s history as a “dumping ground” for chemical plants and other heavy industry.

High incidence seen in most polluted areas

Cause of cancer cluster often never discovered

“It’s always the case that cancer rates are distributed unevenly,” he said, “and almost always, they relate strongly to socioeconomic factors.”

Map of cancer clusters in Delaware

Just the day before the paper reported on an “Earth Day” forum of Governor wannabes — was this a topic of discussion?