Saturday, October 28 saw the injury of Plymouth State University student Rikki Graham. The pipe in question never actually broke. The pipe, a condensate steam line that returns hot water resulting from condensed steam to be re-used to make steam, sprang a leak and createdthe ground hazard that was filled with steaming mud, which Graham stepped into. “Barricades were constructed around the problem area before 10 p.m. on Saturday night, prior to the accident,” said Tammy Hill, the PSU Environmental Health and Safety Coordinator.
The cause of the leak was the aging of the pipe, which corroded from the inside out. “Age is usuallythe cause. This happens over time in any cast iron or metal pipe,” said Chris Williams, the Director of Public Relations. Physical Plant, the organization on campus responsible for maintaining the campus’s infrastructure,in conjunction with several local contractors has replaced the pipe and repaired the ground surrounding it. The damage is estimated at $3500 to $4000.
“We have steam leaks from time to time over the last several years. When they are reported, the Physical Plant staff reacts quickly to contain and securethe area until we can conduct the actual repairs,” said Williams.
Hill said, “There is no evidence that any construction projects had anything to do with this particular leak. The campus infrastructure projects, the digs on Weeks/Merrill Street and across the campus core, are being done to upgrade the lines around campus.”
Hill also said, “Nobody at Physical Plant ever wants to see a student get hurt, and once this incident is fully investigated, we will review our procedure to determine if we need to make any changes in the way we do things. We take this incident very seriously and plant to cooperate fully in the investigation.”
President Steen also responded to this incident by saying, “I am very concerned for the welfare of the student who was injured, and am making sure that the University processes are such that this situation does not recur.”
Some wondered why a student-wide e-mail was not sent out to warn students of the problem. Williams said, “In this particular instance, the area in question was marked to prevent students from walking on it. We followed policies and procedures in marking the area to make it so people would stay clear and be careful. It was either follow procedures on blocking the area off, or send an e-mail. We blocked the area off when we learned about the leak.”
It is unclear at this point as to what legal action will be taking place, if any.