Big Dig Epoxy Provider Facing Manslaughter Charge

August 8, 2007

Powers Fasterners Inc. of Brewster, NY is being charged with a single count of involuntary manslaughter in the death of a 38-year-old Boston woman. Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley announced the handing up of charges this afternoon. A grand jury handed up these charges today.

Milena Del Valle was killed in July 2006 with a portion of Boston’s Big Dig Interstate-90 connector tunnel ceiling collapsed and crushed the car she was riding in with her husband.

Powers Fasteners provided the epoxy used to secure the bolts to suspend the tunnel roof ceiling.

According to the Boston Globe, the NTSB issued a safety recommendation to the company last week, calling for it to revise the packaging on its fast-drying epoxy to state explicitly that it was approved for "short-term loads" only, not long-term loads.

Last month the NTSB determined the probable cause of the July 10, 2006 ceiling collapse in the D Street portal of the I-90 connector tunnel in Boston was the use of an epoxy anchor adhesive with poor creep resistance – the epoxy formulation was not capable of sustaining long-term loads. The report released after the hours-long hearing in July said over time the epoxy deformed and fractured until several ceiling support anchors pulled free and allowed a portion of the ceiling to collapse. The use of the inappropriate epoxy formulation resulted from the failure of the contractors to identify potential creep in the anchor adhesive as a critical long-term failure mode and to account for possible anchor creep in the design, specifications and approval process for the epoxy anchors used in the tunnel.

Bruce Magladry, director of the NTSB’s Office of Highway Safety said the epoxy used for the ceiling panels had “exceptionally poor” resistance to such creeping.

The inappropriate formulation also resulted from a general lack of understanding and knowledge in the construction community about creep in adhesive anchoring systems, according to the report.

The epoxy formulation used in the ceiling panels in question was a fast-set epoxy, rather than a standard-set epoxy.

Posted by Elizabeth Taurasi on August 8, 2007 | Comments (4)

Industries: Boston's Big Dig: A Materials Failure

August 15, 2007

In response to: Big Dig Epoxy Provider Facing Manslaughter Charge
structural engr commented:

Anita, yes they did market the Power fast Epoxy for tunnel ceilings. On the Powers website they had an archived newsletter from on the Sumner Callahan Tunnels labeled PF-003 that boasted the products capabilities. They removed it in May 2007 when they changed their manual. You make false statements that others depend on and you get sued. The full NTSB report is available on line.

August 11, 2007

In response to: Big Dig Epoxy Provider Facing Manslaughter Charge
structural engr commented:

Engineers depend on accurate manufacturer literature in specifying products. NTSB has rightly concluded that Powers mislead the specifiers and users of their product. NTSB proved that there is a huge difference between Fast and Standard Set, that is why after all thees years they changed their literature in May "2007" over 10 years after thye first knew of the problem.

August 10, 2007

In response to: Big Dig Epoxy Provider Facing Manslaughter Charge
dave commented:

I agree, It is the engineers responsibility to specify the right materials, they should be accountable if they did not. Next should come the contractors and the inspectors. Did they buy the specified material, and did the verify the correct materials were being used. Unless the epoxy supplier lied about the properties of their material, they should not be held accountable for other folks errors. None of the news stories I've read on this bother to mention if the supplier even new what the material sold was to be used for, much less if they misrepresented their product. Poor journalism all around - why bother with facts when sensational headlines are all that is needed to attract readers.

August 9, 2007

In response to: Big Dig Epoxy Provider Facing Manslaughter Charge
Anita commented:

What a bunch of garbage!! Did Powers Fasteners Inc. market their epoxy to be used in ceiling tiles? If they did, now you have a valid complaint. The key phrase to me is: The use of the inappropriate epoxy formulation resulted from the failure of the contractors to identify potential creep in the anchor adhesive as a critical long-term failure mode... Why is the epoxy manufacturer being sued? Just looking for another pocket to dig into.

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