Additional lawsuits in Kleen Energy explosion

Hartford, Conn. (AP) - Another slew of lawsuits filed Thursday in the deadly explosion at the Kleen Energy Power plant in Middletown.

The facility was under construction and almost finished in February when the blast occured.

It was shortly after 11 in the morning on February 7th when the explosion occured at the Kleen Energy plant.

On Thursday, attorneys representing the families of three workers who were killed and six others injured filed suit in Middletown Superior Court contending that Kleen Energy and the other companies involved in the building and maintence of the plant failed to take the needed safety precautions resulting in the tragedy.

"This was a site that was deplorable in terms of lack of safety," attorney Robert Riordon said.

Targeted in the lawsuits, plant owner Kleen Energy Systems as well as to O-and-G Industries and Blue Energy Solutions.

The plant was in its final stages of construction at the time of the blast. It occured during what's known as a gas blow procedure to clean the pipes.

And the handling of that gas and the procedure itself are the centerpieces of these massive lawsuits.

"It's the gas," attorney Reese Norris said. "Everything has to do with the gas. The amount of gas that was put in, the lack of safety features to make sure possible ignition sources were not there when the gas was vented. So gas is the key issue in claims of negligence."

The attorneys also contend no safety meeting was held on the day of the blast, which was Super Bowl Sunday, to warn workers that were would be a gas blow. So the area was not properly cleared when the explosion occured.

"The likelihood is this will be a protracted and hard-fought litigation," attorney James Bartolini said. "One of the shared goals is that all of us have, and the families have, is that this never happens again."

Neither Kleen Energy nor the other companies have commented on these lawsuits.

In addition to the suits, Kleen Energy and the other companies have been fined more than $16 million by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. They are all appealing.