On the recordFebruary 11, 2011
This past Monday marked the 1-year anniversary of the disaster at the Kleen Energy Systems power plant in Middletown, Connecticut. That blast claimed six lives and injured dozens of others last February. It could have been prevented. Unsafe pipe cleaning procedures and poor ventilation helped ignite a basketball arena's worth of natural gas in an explosion that could be heard across a 30-mile radius in central Connecticut. One of the six plant construction workers who lost their lives that day hailed from Thomaston, Connecticut, in my district, Peter Chepulis. And as we look back at the terrible events of February 7 last year, it's up to us to honor Peter's memory and those who died alongside him by ensuring that disasters like this never happen again. The cost of powering our homes and businesses should never be measured in lives. Industry and government alike failed Peter that cold winter morning, and we have much work ahead of us to right that wrong. While those who lost loved ones in Middletown a year ago will never be made whole again, we owe them our diligence and our best work to make sure that it never happens again.
