Mirant Corp. said on Thursday that while it “clearly regretted” the explosion that occurred at 11:45 a.m. on May 16 at Unit #5 of its 447 MW New York plant in Tomkins Cove, near Stony Point (see Daily GPI, May 17), it would like to emphasize that there is no evidence the explosion has posed, or is posing any sort of threat to public health or safety.

The blast injured one employee and shut down the entire generating facility when Unit 5, a coal-fired unit rated at about 190 MW, exploded for an unknown reason while it was not in operation. On Friday, the employee was listed in stable condition with “non-life threatening injuries,” spokesman Chuck Griffin said.

Mirant said it is cooperating with local authorities and making every effort to minimize any impact on the local community, including conducting a cleanup operation of the neighboring properties using appropriate redemption methods.

At a press conference late Thursday, Rockland County Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Joan Fascelle confirmed that test results indicate there was no off-site asbestos contamination as a result of yesterday’s explosion. “There is no evidence that this incident has created any kind of health hazard for the community,” said Dr. Fascelle. “Any precautions we are taking are simply to err on the side of caution.”

“Fifty-seven bulk and 27 air samples have been taken outside of the immediate accident area and in the surrounding residential community. All have tested negative for asbestos,” said Carl Dornbush, senior environmentalist, Rockland County Department of Health. “Cleaning crews are currently in the process of cleaning the affected neighborhoods and additional crews are scheduled to arrive.”

All operations at the facility have been shut down until it is certain that safe operations of other units can begin.

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