OSHA sets $16 million fine in Connecticut power plant blast

HARTFORD, Conn. — The nation's top workplace safety agency imposed $16.6 million in fines Thursday against companies involved in a power plant blast that killed six workers and injured 50 others.

The fines, the third-highest imposed for a single accident, stem from 371 alleged safety and workplace violations at the Kleen Energy Systems natural gas power plant in Middletown.

The companies "blatantly disregarded well-known and accepted industry procedures and their own safety guidelines," the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration said in announcing the fines Thursday.

"They simply and tragically refused to use common sense," U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said Thursday. "The deaths and injuries could have been prevented had the companies placed safety first."

The two main construction companies, which each face multimillion-dollar fines, both said Thursday they will contest the findings and that safety is their top priority.

The under-construction facility exploded Feb. 7 when something ignited natural gas and air that had accumulated in tight quarters during a "gas blow," a procedure in which high-pressure gas is forced through pipes to clean them.

The ignition source hasn't been identified, but welders were working nearby and gas and diesel heaters were left running during the gas blow on that chilly Sunday — defying safety rules and common sense, OSHA officials said.

The largest proposed fine levied in the case is $8.3 million against O&G Industries of Torrington, the general contractor. Keystone Construction & Maintenance of Rowley, Mass., which oversaw the gas blow, was fined almost $6.7 million.

Sixteen other companies also face potential fines, ranging from $7,000 against several small contractors to more than $896,000 against Bluewater Energy Solutions of Acworth, Ga., which was supposed to oversee the safety and training for the gas blow.

Keystone and O&G Industries said in separate statements Thursday that they will contest the proposed citations, and that they strongly disagreed with OSHA's conclusions.

"We live every day with the tragic loss of our colleagues, but our grief is nothing compared to what the victims' families must suffer each day," the Keystone statement said.