Accident At Dominion’s Salem Harbor Station Results In Three Employee Fatalities
SALEM, Mass. – Three Dominion employees were
fatally injured by a boiler tube rupture Tuesday at Salem Harbor Power Station.
The three employees – two
operators and a mechanic – were working
on the ground floor near the Unit 3 boiler when a tube ruptured, blowing steam
onto them 20 feet below. The three were taken first to local hospitals,
then to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, where they died Tuesday
night and early Wednesday.
"All of Dominion is greatly saddened at the
deaths of these men," said
Thomas F. Farrell II, Dominion chairman, president and chief executive officer. "They
were valuable members of our Salem Harbor family. Our thoughts and prayers
are with their families."
Dominion is not releasing the names of the employees
at the request of the families.
Dominion voluntarily shut down all four units
at Salem Harbor so that the station can focus on the needs of its employees
and a full safety review can occur. Units 1 and 2, which were operating
but not involved in the accident, were shut down late Tuesday. Unit 4
was not operating Tuesday. The
units will remain shut down for an indeterminate period of time.
The cause and
exact location of the boiler tube rupture is not known. Boiler
tubes contain high-pressure water and steam that turn the turbine-generator,
which spins to produce electricity. Station personnel said the first
indication of a problem with Unit 3 was when the rupture occurred at about
9 a.m.
For more information about Dominion (NYSE: D), visit the company's Web
site at http://www.dom.com.
