A major leak at a power plant in Centertown has injured three workers and caused a roadway to be shut down.
DB Wilson Power Plant, a steam turbine facility on Hwy 85 near the Ohio/McLean County line, experienced a major leak of coal ash at a silo Wednesday morning at approximately 9:00.
“There is a major leak in one of their ash silos causing very low visibility in the area,” Ohio County Sheriff Adam Wright said Wednesday morning. Hwy 85 was shut down after the coal ash limited visibility to practically zero (the airborne ash was so thick that initially officials thought a silo had collapsed).
The incident occurred when three workers were unplugging the plant’s western silo. The structure contains fly ash, a type of coal ash, and a byproduct of creating power, the Washington Post reports.
“As the silo was unplugged, the material began flowing out of an inspection door near where the contractors were working,” Big Rivers Electric, the company that owns and operates the plant, said in a press release.
The three workers were transported to Owensboro Health, with one of the victims suffering what Wright described as “serious injuries” after being trapped under the ash inside the silo. The most severely injured worker was pulled from the silo by the two less injured employees.
Wright estimated that the effected tower was about 80 percent full of coal ash when the leak began.
(Photo: The scene Wednesday morning at the DB Wilson Power Plant following a major leak of coal ash, courtesy of the Ohio Co. Sheriff’s Office)
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
