Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1615213.015 - Ahlstrom Munksjo Na Specialty Solutions Llc

Inspection Information - Office: Appleton Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 6:30 p.m. on August 16, 2022, an employee was on an elevated platform, one level above the penthouse of a boiler in a power utility when the Babcock & Wilcox Power Boiler No. 11, built in 1966 with a 350,000 pound-per-hour capacity, 1650 pounds-per-square-inch design pressure, and 905-degree Fahrenheit steam temperature had riser tubes explode. According to the monitoring system at the time of the explosion, the readings had the steam flow at 261,050 pounds-per-hour, steam temperature at 875-degrees Fahrenheit, and steam pressure at 1,467 pounds-per-square-inch. The riser tube, located in a horizontal plane, traveled from the header, which was located on the left side wall of the boiler, back towards the steam drum which was located at the rear of the boiler before traveling to the superheater. The front and left sides of the penthouse roof had exploded out. The employee was found dead on an elevated catwalk between two ash hoppers approximately 8.5 feet apart between pipes. The distance between the penthouse and the floor above was just under 14 feet with the elevated work platform approximately 9 feet above that floor. It is typical of the power utility to ensure the ash hoppers were flowing correctly once or twice a shift.

Keywords: Blunt force, Blunt force trauma, Boiler, Explosion, Power Plant