A hydrogen-related blast at AEP's Muskingum River plant early this morning killed one person and injured nine others, according to an AEP spokesperson.
Melissa McHenry, AEP Spokesperson, confirmed that nine people have been taken to local hospitals with non-life threatening injuries. This replaces the 12 previously reported injured by local law enforcement.
Deborah Zubaty, Columbus area director of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, said the person killed was a driver with General Hydrogen. No other information was available.
McHenry said the company is looking into reports that the company General Hydrogen was somehow involved. She also confirmed that the driver of the truck that was transporting hydrogen to the plant was killed.
Hydrogen is usually delivered via truck in a liquid state, McHenry said. Area officials originally thought the accident stemmed from a boiler explosion.
The plant has five units, four of which are still online. The unit that was involved in the explosion is off-line.
Injured workers were treated at three area hospitals.
Four workers were treated at Selby General Hospital in Marietta, said Beth Burlingame, spokeswoman. All four workers are in stable condition, which means they are conscious and vital signs remain stable.
Selby General Hospital in Marietta had a code yellow for one hour, Burlingame said. A code yellow means disaster, which calls in extra workers and sets the hospital up for a quicker response.
One worker was taken to Camden-Clark Memorial Hospital in Parkersburg and treated for a head injury, according to Greg Smith, spokesperson for Camden. No other information was provided.
According to Jennifer Offenberger, spokeswoman at Marietta Memorial Hospital, two people were treated at the hospital.
Chris Hrinko, 45, an employee of Morrison, Inc., of Colegate Drive in Marietta, was the first patient brought in to Marietta Memorial. Offenberger said Hrinko is in stable condition.
Morrison Inc. officials confirmed they had employees at the AEP Muskingum River plant, but could not confirm their status or whether they were involved in the accident.
Drumand McLaughlin, 49, also arrived at Marietta Memorial, but Offenberger also couldn't confirm his condition.
Workers at Globe Metallurgical, less than a mile from the AEP plant, reportedly felt the blast and saw a large volume of smoke.
AEP's Muskingum River plant near Beverly celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2003.
As of 2004, the plant had five coal-fired generating units. Units one through four began service in the 1950s and Unit five began operating in 1968. The plant has employed up to 200 and had a payroll of $13.2 million annually.
The company also announced in recent years it is investing approximately $236 million into the coal-fired Muskingum plant for flue gas desulfurization system installations, commonly known as scrubbers.
Republished with permission of The Marietta Times.
