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Glue Company Indicted in Big Dig Death

Manslaughter charge for ceiling collapse in Boston tunnel

By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 9, 2007 5:03 AM CDT
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(Newser) – A glue company has been indicted for manslaughter for its role in a fatal accident in Boston's controversial Big Dig tunnel. Powers Fasteners of New York supplied adhesives for use in a ceiling which collapsed, killing a 38-year-old woman in a car. The adhesive used in the construction was not intended for long term use.

The Big Dig is the most expensive public works project in US history. The maximum penalty for the involuntary manslaughter charge is only a $1,000 fine—but company officials expressed outrage. "We are stunned beyond belief," said the president of the firm. He insisted workers used the wrong glue without the company's knowledge.

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley points to an epoxy cartridge during a news conference in Boston Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2007. Coakley announced that Powers Fasteners Inc., of N.Y., who provided the epoxy blamed in the fatal Big Dig tunnel collapse, was charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter. (AP...
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley points to an epoxy cartridge during a news conference in Boston Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2007. Coakley announced that Powers Fasteners Inc., of N.Y., who provided...   (Associated Press)
Fire fighters inspect a section of ceiling in the Interstate 90 connector tunnel eastbound through Boston that collapsed onto the roadway and killed a woman passenger in a car, in this July 11, 2006 file photo. On Tuesday, July 10, 2007, the first anniversary of the accident, the National Transportation...
Fire fighters inspect a section of ceiling in the Interstate 90 connector tunnel eastbound through Boston that collapsed onto the roadway and killed a woman passenger in a car, in this July 11, 2006 file...   (Associated Press)
A Massachusetts state police officer talks on a cell phone in this file photo taken Tuesday, July 11, 2006, near bolts that were removed from a Big Dig tunnel where cement slabs fell late Monday night in Boston. Criminal investigators are looking at whether the use of the wrong adhesive...
A Massachusetts state police officer talks on a cell phone in this file photo taken Tuesday, July 11, 2006, near bolts that were removed from a Big Dig tunnel where cement slabs fell late Monday night...   (Associated Press)
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Big Dig Indictment

Indictment just part of broad concerns about the Big Dig
New York Times

Text of company's response to indictment
Danbury News Times

 
Boston • accident • Big Dig • Jeffrey Powers • Milena Del Valle • glue • manslaughter • adhesive

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