Toxic gas kills 2, injures 4 at plant
Shippingport workers did pipe maintenance
Toxic gas killed two workers who were working on piping in an underground area of FirstEnergy’s Bruce Mansfield Power Plant late Tuesday, and four others were treated after they also inhaled what was later identified as hydrogen sulfide.
The incident occurred about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to FirstEnergy spokeswoman Stephanie Walton.
Pennsylvania State Police in Beaver identified the dead as Kevin Patrick Bachner, 34, of Pittsburgh, and John Michael Gorchock, 42, of Pittsburgh.
The injured were identified as Mark Wagner, 31, of Pulaski; Thomas Cantwell, 31, of Crafton; Nathaniel W. Compton, 31, of Wellsville, Ohio; and Michael Gorchock, 43, of Pittsburgh.
Police said the men were working under the direction of Enerfab Corporation, headquartered in Cincinnati. Enerfab provides maintenance services to FirstEnergy, which owns the plant in Shippingport, Beaver County. Mr. Wagner is a FirstEnergy employee; the rest worked for Enerfab.
No information was available
about the conditions of the injured workers.
The team was working on pipe maintenance when the were “overcome” by gas, state police Cpl. Michael Miller said.
A statement issued later by state police said: “While working in a confined, welltype area, the workers removed an elbow joint in a pipe. In doing so, H2S (hydrogen sulfide) gas was released into the air in the confined space, incapacitating the workers.”
The release said Mr. Bachner and Mr. Gorchock were “unable to make it out of the well and died as a result.”
The injured “inhaled the gas but were able to make it out of the well.”
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration describes H2S as a “highly flammable explosive gas” and notesit is “life-threatening.”
In addition to the dead and injured, two other workers were in the vicinity, but they were not injured, Ms. Walton said.
Cpl. Miller said the work was part of a lengthy maintenance project involving piping equipment.
Enerfab CEO Scott Anderson said his company was “deeply affected” and was “reaching out to the families to do what we can.”
OSHA representatives were on site Wednesday.
The Bruce Mansfield Power Plant is FirstEnergy's largest coal-fired plant. OSHA has inspected the plant six times since 2007, according to online records. Two of those inspections, one in 2011 and the other in 2013, resulted in violations for which FirstEnergy paid $15,500 to settle.
Other workers were at the plant at the time of Wednesday’s incident, but they were not evacuated, Ms. Walton said.
“There was no threat to public safety or to other workersat the plant,” she said.
The plant was operating Wednesday.