Florida Utility Gets $500,000 Fine, Probation for Fatal Blast
TAMPA, Fla.—A Florida utility has been fined $500,000 and placed on three years’ probation for a 2017 deadly explosion at a coal-fired power plant that killed five workers.
The U.S. Justice Department said in a news release Friday that Tampa Electric Co. also must adhere to a new safety compliance plan. The fine is the maximum allowed for willful Occupational Safety and Health Administration workplace rules violations such as this.
The explosion at TECO’s Big Bend plant near Tampa happened when an effort was made using high-pressure water to clear a slag byproduct that accumulates in tanks under the coal-fired furnaces. The workers died and several more were injured when they were sprayed with molten slag that came loose….