Middletown Power Plant Explosion: Focus On Worker's Torch
POWER PLANT EXPLOSION>> Read stories about the victims of the Middletown explosion
February 09, 2010|By JOSH KOVNER and DAVE ALTIMARI, The Hartford CourantInvestigators are focusing on a welder's torch as the possible cause of Sunday's deadly blast at the Kleen Energy Systems power plant, sources said.
The explosion that killed five and hospitalized 27 people occurred immediately after the purging, or cleaning, of the underground natural gas pipeline that runs about 800 to 1,000 feet through the plant.
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Sources familiar with the probe and with the purging operation said that welding work wasn't entirely halted during or immediately after the purging Sunday morning. That operation can result in an accumulation of natural gas that must be vented from rooms and enclosures before ignition sources, such as a welder's torch, can be safely introduced, experts said
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