News

Workers taken to hospital after power plant spill

By Tom Dalton
Staff writer
Published: November 12, 2008

SALEM — Six power plant workers were taken to Salem Hospital last week as a "precautionary measure" after a cleaning solution spilled inside the plant.

The spill happened Nov. 3, when a contracting crew cut a pipe at the base of a 30-gallon storage tank that had not been used in about a decade, according to Salem Harbor Station.

Some of the workers complained of feeling dizzy from the fumes, according to Jim Norvelle, a spokesman for Dominion, the plant owner.

"As a precautionary measure, six employees were taken to the hospital to be checked out," he said. "They were all released and they all returned to work" that same day.

The liquid that spilled was a "2 percent solution of water and chemicals" used to control algae and mussels that can grow in the cooling system that draws water from the harbor, the company said.

The cleaning solution contained bromine, hydrobromic acid, chlorine and hydrochloric acid, according to Norvelle.

The spill was contained inside the plant and did not get into the harbor, the company said.

Dominion said it reported the spill to the Salem Fire Department, but was not required to contact state or federal agencies. "The concentration of the chemicals in the solution was below the amount necessary to report the spill," said Norvelle.

A union official said the incident was "not serious."

"It was a strong smell, but it wasn't a very large discharge," said Rick Robey, president of IBEW Local 326. "...A lot of the guys said, 'I don't want to go (to the hospital),' but the company said, 'That's too bad, you're going.'"