JUNE 11 2015
NORTH CHARLESTON, SC
A nitrogen line ruptured at the North Charleston Boeing
plant Thursday morning, blowing a crater in the ground.
A nitrogen line ruptured at the North Charleston Boeing
plant Thursday morning, leaving a crater in the ground.
The incident was reported about 6:30 a.m. Robert Gross,
spokesman for Boeing South Carolina, later said an underground nitrogen line
had failed.
“There were no confirmed injuries, and there are no
associated health risks,” he said in an email. “Because safety is always our
top priority, we are conducting a full investigation, and we will provide more
information as it is available.”
Nitrogen is used in the production of the fuselages, Gross
said. The rupture was next to the aft-body and mid-body production buildings,
he said.
A notice sent to workers said the line that failed was
between buildings 88-19 and 88-20. The notice assured workers there was no
danger to them or the environment and that the nitrogen lines were shut off
immediately.
Photos tweeted from the scene showed a crater big enough to
drive a car into where the line had ruptured.
Boeing makes its 787-8 and 787-9 wide-body commercial
airplanes at the North Charleston campus as well as at a sister facility in
Everett, Wash. The North Charleston facility, beginning in 2016, will be the
only site to produce the 787-10 — the Dreamliner line’s longest and most
fuel-efficient model.
Source: http://www.postandcourier.com