State Agency Cites Pasadena for Fatal Blast

The Pasadena Water and Power Department has been cited by Cal/OSHA investigators for seven “serious” violations of the California health and safety code in the underground electrical vault explosion that killed three city workers July 12.

Cal/OSHA District Manager Isaac Chae said that if Pasadena had followed required safety procedures, the three workers “absolutely” would not have died because power would have been cut off to the line that exploded and killed them.

The utility cannot be fined as a penalty for the citations because it is a public--rather than private--enterprise. One Cal/OSHA official said that if the problems are left uncorrected “we could get an injunction and shut them down.”

“If we find a problem and they’re not coming around, we will do that,” said Bob Garcia, the agency’s regional manager.

The citations, issued Sept. 21, fault the department for failing to observe a number of workplace practices that should have been taken before the three workers descended into an underground vault in a residential area south of the Rose Bowl to repair damage to a 17,000-volt electrical line.

Among the seven violations listed as “serious” by Cal/OSHA were failure of the city to require workers to use rubber gloves when handling energized lines, and failure to identify and shut off current to the necessary electrical lines before the workers entered the vault and failure to conduct tests for air contamination in the vault. In addition, the department was cited for failing to ground the electrical lines inside the vault and failing to conduct tests on the lines to ensure that they were de-energized before the workers entered the vault.

The city was also cited for a less serious “general” violation for its lack of a written emergency action plan and its failure to test the fit of respirators for all workers.

Pasadena Water and Power Manager David Plumb said that the city plans to file an appeal of the citations to reduce them to a less stringent form of reprimand called a memorandum.

“There may be some disagreement in whether the regulations do apply in the way that our system operates,” Plumb said. “I think it’s important to have that decided: What is a real violation and what is a difference in procedure?”

For example, Plumb said that Pasadena workers are trained to work in conditions where the lines remain energized, and therefore the lines do not need to be shut down.

The appeal could take months to resolve because of the backlog of cases, Garcia said.

Even though state law bars any fines against the city-owned utility, the state agency is not without recourse, Garcia said. If Pasadena fails to correct the violations, civil or criminal charges could be filed against them by the county prosecutors, he said.

The accident is said to be the worst recorded by Pasadena’s Water and Power Department. After the 17,000-volt line exploded in a vault at the intersection of San Rafael Avenue and La Loma Road, three workers descended into the vault to make repairs. There, about 8:15 p.m., a 4,000-volt line exploded, killing them.

Killed in the explosion were foreman Walter Wise, 50, of Temple City, a 29-year city employee, and two cable splicers, Brian Miles, 36, of Pasadena, and Larry Hokenson, 38, of West Covina.

An investigation by a forensic engineer hired by the city has concluded that the electrical problems began in the 4,000-volt line, triggering the explosion in the 17,000-volt line. Workers at the time were unaware of the problems, according to the report, which has not been released.