Legalectric

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.’