Big Dig firm was warned about epoxy. Supplier faced complaints in Singapore

[Ian David]

By Scott Allen and Sean P. Murphy, Globe Staff | August 10, 2007

The epoxy supplier indicted Wednesday on involuntary manslaughter charges in the Big Dig tunnel ceiling collapse faced serious problems with the strength and reliability of its glue on several Singapore projects at the same time that bolts fastened with an identical material began coming loose during construction of the ceiling in Boston, according to internal company documents obtained by the Globe.

However, engineers from Powers Fasteners never mentioned the problems in Singapore to Big Dig engineers investigating why bolts were slipping out or told them that the five loose ceiling bolts in Boston could be caused by a problem with their product.

Attorney General Martha Coakley announced the indictment of Powers Fasteners on one count of involuntary manslaughter Wednesday, charging that the company's failure to determine why epoxy bolts it supplied were coming loose in 1999 contributed directly to the death of Milena Del Valle when the concrete ceiling collapsed seven years later. Last month, the National Transportation Safety Board found that workers installed the ceiling bolts using the wrong type of Powers epoxy, a fast-drying form that tends to lose strength over time.

The attorney general's office has been aware of the Singapore complaints since last fall and has copies of the Powers documents.

More:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/08/10/big_dig_firm_was_warned_about_epoxy/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+City%2FRegion+News