CENTER TOWNSHIP, Pa. – According to a report on Gant news partner WJACTV.com’s Web site, six workers were injured at an industrial accident in Indiana County on Thursday morning.
The story is as follows:
According to officials, a six-inch high pressure steam pipe burst inside the Homer City Power Plant in Center Township around 7:45 a.m.
Emergency officials told WJAC-TV news crew at the power plant that six employees were injured in the incident on the sixth floor of unit 1.
Chicago-based Edison Mission Energy owns the plant. Officials said three workers were airlifted by medical helicopter to a burn center in Pittsburgh where they were in fair condition as of noon.
Three other workers were treated at local hospitals, and two of them were released. The plant was evacuated and all employees are accounted for, officials said.
The plant powers more than 1.4 million homes in at least 12 states. Officials said a portion of the power plant is offline and is no longer producing electricity following the steam pipe rupture, but power was not disrupted.
The power plant has its own emergency response team said an investigation is under way to determine the cause of the blast. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has also been contacted.
The Homer City power plant has been the target of the Environmental Protection Agency for alleged air pollution violations. However, the plant has a strong safety record. In 2003, the plant won the Governor’s Safety Award and last year there was only one worker injury.
Until Thursday’s explosion, the plant had gone 865 days without any major incident, officials said.
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