CSB meets with Colorado Governor to discuss safety recommendations
Published: 23 November, 2010
Chemical Safety Board (CSB) Chairperson Rafael Moure-Eraso, Ph.D. has met with Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, Jr. to discuss CSB safety recommendations regarding power plants in the state.
The recommendations grew out of the CSB’s investigation of the Xcel Energy hydroelectric plant tunnel accident in Georgetown, Colorado, that killed five contract workers on October 2, 2007. Workers were trapped underground during an operation to coat the inside of the tunnel, or penstock, using flammable solvents.
On August 25, 2010, the CSB issued a recommendation to the Governor’s Office to implement an accredited firefighter certification program for technical rescue that encompasses appropriate specialty areas, including confined spaces, as part of the Xcel Energy investigation. Dr. Moure-Eraso thanked Governor Ritter for his support of this recommendation. Governor Ritter and Chairperson Moure-Eraso further discussed a second recommendation to the state to implement contracting rules and practices for regulated utilities that would disqualify contractors with poor safety records. In its final report, the CSB found that Xcel contracted a company with the worst safety record of all bidders.
Finally, Chairperson Moure-Eraso and Governor Ritter discussed the CSB’s recommendation to ban “gas blows,” which release flammable gas to the atmosphere during fuel gas piping cleaning activities. The state of Colorado is due to convert a number of coal plants to gas fired power plants creating potential risks if natural gas is used to clean piping. This recommendation was made to all fifty states following the explosion at the Kleen Energy power plant in Middletown, Connecticut, on February 7, 2010, that fatally injured six workers.
