This blog presents Metropolitan Engineering Consulting & Forensics (MEC&F) claim management and claim investigation analyses of some of the typical claims we handle
Chlorine leak at Detroit plant contained Holly Fournier, The Detroit News 12:01 p.m. EDT August 11, 2016 A chlorine leak at the Detroit Waste Water Treatment on Thursday prompted a HAZMAT Level 3 response, according to the city’s fire department.
The leak was discovered Thursday morning in an 80-ton tank of chlorine at 9300 W. Jefferson, near the Rouge River and Interstate 75, Chief Dale Bradley said.
A “limited amount” of the substance leaked from a feed line into a process building at the plant, according to officials with the Great Lakes Water Authority, which operates the facility. The leak was “immediately” contained.
“All early warning systems were activated and operated as planned,” Great Lakes Water Authority officials said in a Thursday afternoon statement. “As is standard protocol, the emergency response staff on-site notified appropriate local, state and federal agencies. Presently, the building’s air control system is removing chlorine from the atmosphere inside the building.”
It was not immediately clear exactly how much chlorine leaked before the situation was contained.
A HAZMAT Level 3 is called when a crisis requires resources beyond those available through typical state or regional channels, according to the National Fire Protection Association. The situations may pose extreme, immediate and/or long-term risk to the environment and public health.
But Thursday’s leak did not pose any threat, water authority officials said.
“Emergency response personnel evaluated the scene and determined there was no danger to public health. There were no injuries to personnel,” officials said. “Further, there is no impact to drinking water or surface water related to this circumstance.”
The leak comes several months after a series of fires at the same plant sparked a war of words over safety at the facility.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 207 blamed the March fires on “chronic understaffing, deferred maintenance and organization chaos.”
The Great Lakes Water Authority, which built the plant alongside the state’s Department of Environmental Quality, disputed the union’s understaffing claims and said the fires had no connection to staffing levels.
A chainsaw tears up the large tree limb that suddenly came crashing down on a mother at a popular San Francisco Park. (KGO-TV)
by Sergio Quintana Saturday, August 13, 2016 12:38AM SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A chainsaw tore up the large tree limb that suddenly came crashing down on a mother at a popular San Francisco park. That woman is in the hospital with life threatening injuries.
Sky7 HD was over the scene at Washington Square Park in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood Friday afternoon, shortly after the tree limb fell on the woman.
As a city worker cut apart the massive tree branch. Police officers collected the bags left on the bench by the woman who was hit.
"The branch fell and we believe hit her in the head and when we arrived she was in and out of consciousness," said San Francisco police Capt. David Lazar.
She was sitting on the bench watching her two children on the playground. They were uninjured. She was rushed to San Francisco General Hospital with life threatening injuries.
According to the fire department, she was bleeding from a head wound. A neighbor said she's horrified at this accident, but she's not surprised.
"I think it is always a matter of time and wind. These branches have been falling off, just takes a windy day for a branch to come loose," said neighbor Katherine Dawson.
Just before the tree branch was cut up, city workers took measurements of the limb. It was 19 inches around.
The recreation and park director of operations says it's been six years since these trees were evaluated.
"Looking at the tree itself we've seen it has moisture content and that the wood is very healthy," said Dennis Kern of the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department.
This is not the first time a branch has injured or even killed someone in the city. In 2008, a woman was killed in Stern Grove by a falling limb.
As crews were cleaning up the accident scene Friday they noticed another broken branch on the same tree, so they called in a cherry picker to cut it down.
Report: Tenn. Ferris wheel that dropped girls 30 feet had worn out rivets
Greeneville Police Detective Capt. Tim Davis answers questions at the foot of the Ferris wheel at the Greene County Fair on Aug. 9, 2016 in Tennessee. Members of the Greene County Fair Board of Directors stand behind him. (O.J. Early / Greeneville Sun)
Worn out rivet fasteners on a Ferris wheel are being blamed for an overturned gondola at an eastern Tennessee fair that earlier this week sent three girls plummeting more than 30 feet to the ground.
The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development announced late Friday that it has renewed permits for the ride's owner, Family Attractions Amusement, to resume operations at other fairs around the state. But the Frris wheel is excluded from the permit.
Inspectors hired by the company and the Greene County Fair found that rivets had worn out on the bottom of the tub carrying the girls, allowing a trim piece to come loose and get lodged in the frame of the wheel and tipping the gondola over.
"Ride NOT safe to operate at time of inspection," Frank Guenthner, an inspector hired by ride owner Family Attractions Amusement, wrote in his report.
A team of IKEA experts are traveling across the country helping families tackle home challenge with design makeovers that have smart solutions to make everyday life at home better. See More
The Ferris wheel, which inspectors say was correctly assembled at the site, is being sent back to the manufacturer for repair.
Tennessee does not conduct its own inspections of fair or amusement park rides, instead relying on third-party inspectors. The company was allowed to operate in the state based on an inspection made in Indiana in June.
Six-year-old Briley Rae Reynolds suffered a traumatic brain injury in the fall on Monday and her 10-year-old sister, Kayla, broke her arm. Kayla and an unidentified 16-year old have been released from the hospital, but Briley Rae remained in critical condition.
Firefighters inspect a Ferris wheel that dumped three girls out of a passenger gondola on Aug. 9, 2016, in Tennessee. Police say one of three people who fell from a Ferris wheel during a county fair suffered a head injury and remains hospitalized in serious condition. (Ken Little / Greeneville Sun)
Republican Gov. Bill Haslam told reporters earlier Friday that it was too soon to say what Tennessee might do to avoid future injuries on rides
"I don't know that right now I have a policy shift of what should happen differently," he said.
It's not the first time Family Attractions Amusement rides have hurt riders.
At the 2013 North Carolina State Fair, five people were injured when an Italian-made ride called the Vortex unexpectedly restarted as they were trying to get off the ride, flinging them through the air and down to the steel deck below. Investigators determined that a safety mechanism had been disabled by ride operators including the son of company owners Dominic and Ruby Macaroni.
Joshua Macaroni earlier this year entered an Alford plea — a concession that there is sufficient evidence for a conviction without admitting guilt — on a felony charge of obstruction of justice. He was sentenced in February to five to 15 months in prison, though the judge suspended that to a month in jail. He was also ordered pay a $22,500 fine. Amusement ride death, injuries put spotlight on safety at state fair
The Greeneville Sun has reported that Greene County Fair Board officials decided to go through with a five-year contract with a Family Attractions despite the North Carolina incident, citing the company's previous safety record in Tennessee and the owners' claims that they were not involved with the Vortex ride. "
Their rides were not inspected when they were assembled in Tennessee.
Family Attractions Amusement had already taken down its rides in Greeneville the day before the state decision to allow most of the rides to resume.
Associated Press
====================
(Twitter/ Greenville Sun)
Updated 4 mins ago NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Worn out rivet fasteners on a Ferris wheel are being blamed for an overturned gondola at an eastern Tennessee fair that earlier this week sent three girls plummeting more than 30 feet to the ground.
The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development announced late Friday that it has renewed permits for the ride's owner, Family Attractions Amusement, to resume operations at other fairs around the state. But the Ferris wheel is excluded from the permit.
Inspectors hired by the company and the Greene County Fair found that rivets had worn out on the bottom of the tub carrying the girls, allowing a trim piece to come loose and get lodged in the frame of the wheel and tipping the gondola over.
"Ride NOT safe to operate at time of inspection," Frank Guenthner, an inspector hired by ride owner Family Attractions Amusement, wrote in his report.
The Ferris wheel, which inspectors say was correctly assembled at the site, is being sent back to the manufacturer for repair.
Tennessee does not conduct its own inspections of fair or amusement park rides, instead relying on third-party inspectors. The company was allowed to operate in the state based on an inspection made in Indiana in June.
Six-year-old Briley Rae Reynolds suffered a traumatic brain injury in the fall on Monday and her 10-year-old sister, Kayla, broke her arm. Kayla and an unidentified 16-year old have been released from the hospital, but Briley Rae remained in critical condition.
Republican Gov. Bill Haslam told reporters earlier Friday that it was too soon to say what Tennessee might do to avoid future injuries on rides
"I don't know that right now I have a policy shift of what should happen differently," he said.
It's not the first time Family Attractions Amusement rides have hurt riders.
At the 2013 North Carolina State Fair, five people were injured when an Italian-made ride called the Vortex unexpectedly restarted as they were trying to get off the ride, flinging them through the air and down to the steel deck below. Investigators determined that a safety mechanism had been disabled by ride operators including the son of company owners Dominic and Ruby Macaroni.
Joshua Macaroni earlier this year entered an Alford plea - a concession that there is sufficient evidence for a conviction without admitting guilt - on a felony charge of obstruction of justice. He was sentenced in February to five to 15 months in prison, though the judge suspended that to a month in jail. He was also ordered pay a $22,500 fine.
The Greeneville Sun has reported that Greene County Fair Board officials decided to go through with a five-year contract with a Family Attractions despite the North Carolina incident, citing the company's previous safety record in Tennessee and the owners' claims that they were not involved with the Vortex ride.
Their rides were not inspected when they were assembled in Tennessee.
Family Attractions Amusement had already taken down its rides in Greeneville the day before the state decision to allow most of the rides to resume. ==================
Link between NC, Tenn. amusement mishaps
A company involved in a recent Tennessee ferris wheel accident has a North Carolina link.
By
Jon Camp
Almost three years after the worst state fair accident in recent
memory, the company that owned the ride is back in the news, this time
for another fair ride accident in another state.
The Macaroni family owns Family Attractions Amusement in Georgia,
which owns the Ferris wheel that malfunctioned in Tennessee on Aug. 8.
The company also owned the ride that went out of control at the North
Carolina State Fair in 2013 after the operator, Tim Tutterow, tampered
with safety equipment on the Vortex.
On Wednesday night, a
private inspector and police in Tennessee blaming the accident on
"mechanical failure," but government investigators are still sorting out
exactly how the Ferris wheel seat flipped over, sending three girls
plummeting about 25 feet to the ground.
The accident left a
6-year-old girl with a traumatic brain injury, and has prompted renewed
scrutiny of the lack of state or federal inspections to ensure that
traveling carnival ride has been safely installed before it opens for
business.
Tennessee authorities decided to stop doing inspections
altogether after a 2014 audit found shortcomings in the state's
regulatory program for rides at fairs and amusement parks.
The
state relies instead on private inspectors hired by ride operators as
well as inspections in other states to determine whether roller
coasters, zip lines and Ferris wheels are safe. But there is no state
requirement for an inspection to confirm that traveling equipment has
been properly reassembled before children climb on board.
Greeneville
Police Capt. Tim Davis said at a news conference late Tuesday that
"mechanical failure" appeared to have caused the basket the girls were
riding in to overturn Monday night at the Greene County Fair in eastern
Tennessee.
Frank Gunther, an inspector hired by Family
Attractions Amusement, also cited mechanical failure at the news
conference Tuesday night. Three other inspectors - the police captain
didn't say who they represent - are at the scene investigating.
Bracken
Burns, the director of trauma services for Johnson City Medical Center,
said the 6-year-old was critically injured, while her 10-year-old
sister and a 16-year-old female who shared their seat were described as
stable. Burns said the 10-year-old's forearms were injured, and that he
couldn't release information on the other girl.
The company
received its permit to operate the Ferris wheel in Tennessee for the
next three months based on a June inspection in Indiana, according to
state Department of Labor and Workforce Development spokeswoman Jennifer
Farrar.
Because of this accident, the operators will have to
have a new third-party inspection conducted before the ride can qualify
for a new annual permit in Tennessee, Farrar said.
In a follow-up
to the audit last year, the state Department of Labor and Workforce
Development said Tennessee law does not require the state to hire its
own inspectors. Funding for the Amusement Device Unit was requested for
the budget year ending in June but was denied.
Tennessee shifted
responsibility for ride inspections from the state Department of
Commerce to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development in 2009,
but failed to develop a "viable amusement device regulatory unit"
thereafter, the 2014 audit found.
Auditors said mistakes in
record-keeping and a lack of inspectors created "serious concerns about
whether the unit is able to ensure that all amusement devices in the
state are appropriately permitted and inspected both annually and
following accidents and fatalities."
The Greene County incident
was the eighth injury incident reported to Tennessee authorities on
amusement rides this summer. In Gatlinburg, a woman's wrists and knee
caps were fractured when she was ejected from a ride. At three different
attractions in Pigeon Forge, people suffered a broken arm on a roller
coaster and back injuries were reported after doing flips at a
trampoline park and getting hit from behind on an alpine coaster.
After
the accident in North Carolina in 2013, the state made a number of
changes in how it considers and contracts with companies at the fair.
This is a list of those changes given to us by the Department of
Agriculture.
Contract now requires the contractor to
provide the State Fair with a list of all persons or businesses
supplying rides, games or concessions, including name, address and
contact person, at least 30 days prior to the start of the fair for
rides and seven days for games and concessions. Previously, the
requirement was 14 days for rides, games and concessions.
Another new requirement is that the contractor must provide copies of
all insurance certificates from subcontractors and furnish, upon request
by the State Fair manager, safety inspection reports performed by the
insurance carrier and any inspection reports from the last fair played.
The new contract places less emphasis on the number of rides that must
be provided. The previous minimum was 93 rides. Now, it's 85. (This
recognizes the fact that one larger ride, which uses more space, may be
preferable to three smaller rides. Also, this change can reduce the
number of rides needed from subcontractors.)
The new
contract also specifies that the State Fair manager will determine which
rides fall into various classifications, such as spectacular, major and
kiddie. Previously, the contractor submitted a list of rides already
categorized. The State Fair manager will base his determination on
factors such as the height requirement set by the ride manufacturer, how
many tickets it takes to ride, and height, size, length, capacity or
complexity of ride assembly and operation.
Contract
requires criminal background checks and drug tests of all employees of
the contractor and subcontractors. (Powers already did this, but it will
be a requirement going forward, regardless of carnival contractor.)
Incident reported at the Sunoco refinery in Port Arthur. (KTRK)
Updated 21 mins ago
PORT ARTHUR, TX (KTRK) -- Authorities are on the scene after 7 people were injured during a flash fire at a refinery in Port Arthur. According to the Jefferson County Sheriff, all 7 victims were transported to local hospitals for burn treatment. The incident occurred at the Sunoco refinery on 2300 Twin City Highway.
There is no imminent danger to the surrounding area.
=======
Transporting, Terminalling and Storing Crude Oil, Natural Gas Liquids, and Refined Products
Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P. (NYSE: SXL) is a master limited partnership that owns and operates a logistics business consisting of a geographically diverse portfolio of complementary crude oil, natural gas liquids, and refined products pipeline, terminalling and acquisition and marketing assets which are used to facilitate the purchase and sale of crude oil, natural gas liquids, and refined products.
SXL’s general partner is a consolidated subsidiary of Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. (NYSE: ETP). Our business is characterized by extensive industry and safety experience, strong financial fundamentals, and operational flexibility. Collectively, a strong asset base and the successful execution of our business strategies have consistently delivered substantial returns to unitholders.
