New York Company Indicted in Collapse of Big Dig

NY Slimes ^ | Published: August 9, 2007 | By PAM BELLUCK

[Perdogg]

The supplier of the epoxy that federal officials have blamed for the collapse of a Big Dig tunnel was indicted today in the death of a motorist crushed by falling ceiling panels.

The company, Powers Fasteners Inc., was charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter. It is the first criminal charge in the tunnel debacle, which killed Milena Del Valle, 38, in July 2006 as she was on her way to the airport. Her death ignited an uproar over the safety of the $15 billion Big Dig, the most expensive single public works project in American history.

[Perdogg]

I guess this means the Engineers were cleared.

[Brilliant]

Why didn’t Spitzer get this company before it killed? Was he too busy chasing innocent people for purely political reasons?

[muawiyah]

Well, so far ~ they are blaming the guys who made the glue ~ not that glue works all that well holding tons of concrete in the air.

Does this mean the prosecutor has taken a dive on this ~ that no one in Massachusetts is going to be charged?

[ASA Vet]

Seems everyone was cleared and they’re going to throw a company in jail.

[SunTzuWu]

The Powers company’s statement said Powers filled an order for standard set epoxy to be used in the tunnel ceiling and was unaware that fast set was used. The cost of epoxy for the project was $1,287.60, it said. The statement said Powers had informed state officials before the ceiling was installed that fast set had failed a “creep test,” and that when it was called to the tunnel in 1999, a Powers engineer came ready “to do the very test that the N.T.S.B. now states should have been done,” but was not allowed to conduct that test.

[Perdogg]

I see one serious error in the NYT story.

[Perdogg]

Did they submit on the standard set?

[ronnie raygun]

There is one thing I have to say, Ted Kennedy!

[BigBobber]

The cost of epoxy is going to go way up. Better go down to Home Depot and stock up!

[SunTzuWu]

Did they submit on the standard set?

I don't know. That paragraph was from the article. It sounds like they are a convenient fall guy.

[Andy'smom]

Yes, they are convenient, plus they never contributed any $$ to the attorney general’s campaign.

[Diplomat]

Maybe, maybe not. This may be a deliberate diversion. Heavy duty epoxies typically require formula mixes and near immediate use. Furthermore, the base mixes usually have a short lifespan (period before expiration). Now I would question who mixed and applied the epoxy. Was all the components in date and most importantly, was the manufacturer's procedure to mix and apply the epoxy followed exactly?

For example, is it the manufacturer's fault the tiles on the space shuttle come off? Was the fallen tiles epoxy bad? Are all the tile adhesions bad? Would this not be the case if manufacturer is at fault? I.e. the epoxy does not meet specification.

Now getting back to the Big Dig, I would assume that if the epoxy used is really the problem, everywhere it has been used will have to be redone. Is that happening?

[mass55th]

I’m still waiting for someone to come up with a connection to China.

[PugetSoundSoldier]

the $15 billion Big Dig, the most expensive single public works project in American history

Bah, pikers! Come on over to the People's Republik of Seattle where we're cooking up a $24 BILLION dollar light rail line...

[BTHOtu]

I wonder if the charges will stick?

[nw_arizona_granny]

Ping.

[Mack the knife]

Bah, pikers! Come on over to the People’s Republik of Seattle where we’re cooking up a $24 BILLION dollar light rail line...

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Is this being funded out of gasoline taxes? If so, how are your bridges??

[Mr J]

Deflection by Massachusetts pols and bureaucrats to help turn down the heat they’re facing?