Two Dead, Five Injured From Steam Blast at Iatan Power Station

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas). Two Iatan Power Station (Weston, Missouri) workers lost their lives last week, both after sustaining massive burns from a ruptured steam line on the 725-megawatt Iatan 01 Unit. Five others were also injured during the blast, one still receiving critical care at a Kansas City hospital Friday suffering from extensive burns. All of the burn victims were employees at the power station. Iatan Power Station is located 35 miles northwest of Kansas City, Missouri.

Matthew Tidwell, Director of Public Affairs for Kansas City Power and Light (KCP&L), said a 3-inch high-pressure water line ruptured at 11:45 a.m. Wednesday on Iatan 01, resulting in the release of super-heated steam upon the nearby workers. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), as well as company officials, are conducting independent investigations on what specifically occurred Wednesday at the plant. In addition, no timeframe for a return to power generation at Iatan has been given, as the ongoing investigations take priority at this time.

Iatan Power Station is operated by Kansas City Power and Light (Kansas City, Missouri), and owned by Great Plains Energy (NYSE:GXP). The plant, in operation for nearly 25 years, is also in the midst of a major expansion. Once completed, an additional 850 megawatts of generating power will be available from Iatan 02, more than doubling the plant’s existing power generation capability. More details of this new unit were recently described in an article published by Industrial Info on August 26, 2006 - Kansas City Power & Light Gearing Up for $1.5 Billion Investment at Iatan Power Station.

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