To the editor:
Regarding the Wednesday, March 10, story headlined, "Bill aims to head off error seen as cause in blast":
Properly piped, wire and installed boilers, high-pressure and low-pressure alike, are opened up and state-inspected yearly.
At the site of the 2006 Danversport explosion, a steam valve was left on. The boiler didn't cause the explosion, it was the lack of controls on the plant equipment.
If we are serious and want to protect everyone, everywhere, ALL low-pressure steam boilers should have a licensed fireman checking them regularly.
A low-pressure boiler doesn't know if its steam is being used for manufacturing or heating. Therefore, ALL steam boilers should be checked regardless of size or location. If your home has a steam system, don't you want your family and neighbors to be safe?
This is just another way for the state to collect more license fees, period. Remember, this is the same Legislature that now requires licenses for someone who wants to fish the world's ocean.
How far do we want to go for our personal protection? Helmets for truck, bus and automobile drivers and passengers? That's what race-car drivers wear, along with five-point safety belts, after all.
One of the very first electrical codes stated that all electrical circuits must be tested twice daily. If we did that today, it would cut down on the number of electrocutions and fires. But it's not practical.
Indeed, if the electricity has been shut off at the plant in Danversport that night, there wouldn't have been an explosion.
Let's please fix the real problems and stop skirting around the real issues. Hysteria is a normal reaction to a devastating occurrence such as happened in Danversport. But we have to think rationally, and act rather than react.
Al Allain
Danvers
