The general contractor on the Connecticut powerplant project that suffered a fatal explosion in February says it plans to contest $8.3 million in federal penalties proposed on Aug. 5 for safety violations. O&G Industries Inc., Torrington, Conn., was one of 17 site contractors fined a total of $16.6 million by the U.S. Labor Dept.’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration for 371 alleged violations related to the blast at the 620-MW Kleen Energy LLC combined-cycle plant in Middletown. Six workers were killed; 50 were injured.
OSHA says the blast occurred after an ignition source made contact with a large amount of natural gas that was vented into areas where it could not easily disperse. “These employers blatantly disregarded well-known and accepted industry procedures and their own safety guidelines,” says OSHA chief David Michaels. The penalty total is the third highest imposed by OSHA related to a single event.