Page 39 - Florida Sentinel 5-27-22

Crime
A Florida corporation pleaded guilty in federal court last week to a charge of will- fully violating an Occupa- tional Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rule.
The criminal charge is re- lated to an explosion at TECO’s Big Bend plant in 2017 that caused the deaths of five workers.
In a plea agreement with the government, TECO ad- mitted to willfully failing to hold a pre-job briefing with the workers performing the work. Such briefing should have included the procedures for the water blasting work. Instead, the work proceeded even though the procedures could not be found. As a re- sult, certain critical safety-re- lated steps were not taken, including lowering the amount of coal entering the furnace, and shutting the unit down after a specified interval had lapsed.
At the time, the Big Bend facility consisted of four large coal-fired furnaces. Under- neath the furnaces were water-filled tanks designed to catch and cool the molten “slag” by-product that drips down from the furnace.
On June 29, 2017, hard- ened slag had accumulated at the top and bottom of the slag tank and could not be re- moved. Rather than shutting down the furnace, TECO per- sonnel called in a contractor to perform high-pressure water blasting to try and clear the slag with the unit on-line. The work proceeded without observance of several safety- related procedures required by law. The five men were killed when one of the slag ac- cumulations came loose, spraying the area with molten slag.
“This incident demon- strates the importance of OSHA’s safety standards, and the harms that they are de- signed to prevent,” said Assis- tant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Depart- ment’s Environment and Nat- ural Resources Division. “The deaths caused by the defen-
Man Charged
5 Died In Explosion:
TECO Pleads Guilty To Violating OSHA Rule
With Second
CHRISTOPHER IRVIN ... died at the scene
FRANKIE LEE JONES ... died July 15
dant’s conduct were tragic and they were preventable. The Justice Department will vigorously prosecute those who fail to follow these criti- cal safety rules.”
“Had TECO complied with OSHA’s workplace safety standards, conducted a pre- job briefing and followed its own procedure, these sense- less deaths could have been prevented,” said U.S. Attor- ney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida. “Our hearts go out to the vic- tims’ families as well as other TECO employees and con- tractors impacted by this cat- astrophic event. Our office is proud to have partnered with DOJ’s Environmental Crimes Section to shine a light on this willful violation of OSHA safety standards to deter such conduct and ensure that workers are protected in the future.”
When the explosion took place on June 29, 2017, the slag temperatures reached
ANTONIO NAVARRETE ... died July 5, 2017
ARMANDO PEREZ ... died July 20
1,000 degrees.
All the men were burned
while attempting to unclog a tank that contained slag. One man was employed by TECO, and the others were employ- ees of BRACE and Gaffin In- dustries.
TECO Engineer Michael McCort, 60, and Gaffin In- dustries Crew Supervisor Christopher Irvin, 40, died at the scene.
Antonio Navarrete, 21, of Wimauma, and Frankie Lee Jones, 55, of Tampa, succumbed to their injuries 16 days later and Armando J. Perez, 56, of Wimauma, died 21 days later.
Gary Marine, Jr., 32, of Tampa, who is the stepson of Frankie Lee Jones, recov- ered.
Police have arrested a 27- year-old man and charged him with murder. He is cur- rently being held at the Hills- borough County Jail.
According to the Largo Police Department, officers were sent to the Buckeye Mo- bile Home Park to conduct a wellness check. When they ar- rived, they discovered a de- ceased man inside a mobile home last Friday.
The death was ruled suspi- cious and an investigation took place.
On Sunday, following leads developed, detectives arrested Thomas Hender- son, Jr., in Hillsborough County.
Henderson is charged with grand theft of a motor
THOMAS HENDERSON, JR.
vehicle, violation of probation and police have issued a war- rant for second-degree mur- der. He remains in the Hillsborough County Jail.
The investigation is ongo- ing.
Degree Murder
UNCLE SANDY
It always seems im- possible, 6, 16, 23, 34, 40,50, until it's done.
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