| EB Employee Hurt In Explosion Back At Work By AnthonyCronin, Day Editor An employee injured in a methane gas explosion at the Electric Boat shipyard on Thursday returned to work on Friday, according to an EB official. Dan Barrett, a spokesman for the Groton-based submarine builder, said the worker — whom he would not identify — had been treated at the yard hospital for burns and was later treated at Lawrence & Memorial Hospital after the 1:20 p.m. explosion in a small chemistry laboratory at the shipyard. The lab was not in use on Friday following the incident, Barrett said. He said EB officials are evaluating alternative locations for the laboratory in the interim. The incident did not affect ongoing production schedules in the shipyard, Barrett said. EB officials did not disclose the cost of damages resulting from the methane gas leak and explosion. The methane in the lab is used to calibrate some of the lab equipment, EB officials said. Both the city of Groton fire marshal's office and its building inspection officials inspected the building housing the small chemistry lab to ensure it remains structurally sound. Groton City Deputy Chief John Cunningham said the fire marshal's office continued to look into the incident. “The investigation is ongoing right now. It has not been completed yet,” he said. The Electric Boat Fire Department responded to the initial blast. The shipyard didn't require the services of the nearby city of Groton fire department or other specialized services. EB officials said the blast caused fire alarms to sound and sprinkler systems to activate in the lab as well as nearby buildings 4 and 119. Employees quickly evacuated the buildings after the incident, and there were no additional injuries. A federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration official said the agency was not investigating the incident but was notified by shipyard officials on Thursday of the methane gas incident. EB officials, according to the OSHA official, will be providing further details of the incident to federal safety officials. Federal OSHA offices have jurisdiction over private employers while state OSHA officials have primary jurisdiction over state, town and municipal activities. Nancy Steffens, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Labor said her agency's OSHA officials would not investigate the incident because it did not involve any municipal workers or activities. a.cronin@theday.com |