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Hellfire from above
Solid, important reporting on a preventable tragedy in Tampa @_neilbedi @JonathanCapriel @adawsonwrites @kmcgrory
Link to tweet
Tragic, preventable workplace fatalities. Again illustrating ongoing need for strong protections & enforcement.
Link to tweet
Hellfire from above
Tampa Electric knew the procedure was dangerous.
It sent workers in anyway.
August 17, 2017
By NEIL BEDI, JONATHAN CAPRIEL, ANASTASIA DAWSON and KATHLEEN MCGRORY
Times Staff Writers
TAMPA
The blast happened suddenly, with enough force to toss Carlton Nelson across the power plant’s floor.
When he came to, the veteran Tampa Electric mechanic lifted his head and squinted. The tank he had been trying to fix was spewing a deadly substance called slag from an open door, like a volcano gushing lava. Nearby, a forklift was melting in the molten goo.
That was in 1997. After, Tampa Electric wrote special guidelines so another accident like it would never happen again.
Then two decades later, almost to the day, five workers were killed, burned to death performing a near-identical job at the utility’s Big Bend Power Station in June.
Tampa Electric knew the procedure was dangerous.
It sent workers in anyway.
August 17, 2017
By NEIL BEDI, JONATHAN CAPRIEL, ANASTASIA DAWSON and KATHLEEN MCGRORY
Times Staff Writers
TAMPA
The blast happened suddenly, with enough force to toss Carlton Nelson across the power plant’s floor.
When he came to, the veteran Tampa Electric mechanic lifted his head and squinted. The tank he had been trying to fix was spewing a deadly substance called slag from an open door, like a volcano gushing lava. Nearby, a forklift was melting in the molten goo.
That was in 1997. After, Tampa Electric wrote special guidelines so another accident like it would never happen again.
Then two decades later, almost to the day, five workers were killed, burned to death performing a near-identical job at the utility’s Big Bend Power Station in June.
