Second man dies from injuries suffered in W.Va. gas well explosion by Molly Born, July 28, 2013, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Jason Mearns, 37, of Beverly, W.Va., died at 11:42 a.m. today at the West Penn Hospital burn unit, according to the Allegheny County medical examiner’s office. A lung injury caused by thermal burn deprived Mr. Mearns’ brain of oxygen. Tommy Paxton, 45, of Walton, W.Va., who also worked at the site, died from sepsis due to thermal injuries at 6:50 a.m. Tuesday in the same hospital. The explosion occurred July 7 at an Antero Resources drilling site in New Milton, W.Va, about 50 miles southwest of Morgantown, according to the medical examiner’s office. The company could not be reached for comment Sunday night.
Investigation continues into gas well explosion by Ben Adducchio, July 26, 2013, West Virginia Public Broadcasting
The Department of Environmental Protection won’t allow work to resume at a well pad in Doddridge County until Antero Resources provides specific information to the agency. By the end of the month, Antero Resources must submit that report to the DEP. That information includes an explanation as to what caused the incident, a list of safeguard measures the company will utilize to stop future incidents, and proof that pollutants didn’t contaminate the site. One of the 5 injured workers in the explosion died from his injuries this week. Kathy Cosco is a spokeswoman for the DEP. “Somehow vapors in a tank on the pad ignited. One of the things that we, and OSHA and the company itself are trying to determine is how that happened. Initially, the DEP thought it might be a pump that was malfunctioning, that may have been the ignition source. Upon further review, that really wasn’t conclusive to us,” said Cosco. … Cosco says within the last year, this is at least the second time in West Virginia that vapors in a tank ignited. It’s also the second time in the last year that an Antero gas well has exploded. Last August, an explosion at the company’s Harrison County site injured three workers. [Emphasis added]
Worker dies from injuries in W.Va. gas well explosion by the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, July 23, 2013
A man died early today from injuries related to a West Virginia gas well explosion earlier this month. Tommy Paxton, a 45-year-old from Walton, W.Va. who worked at the site, died from sepsis due to thermal injuries at 6:50 this morning in the West Penn Hospital burn unit in Pittsburgh, according to the Allegheny County medical examiner’s office. The explosion occurred July 7 at an Antero Resources drilling site in New Milton, W.Va, according to the medical examiner’s office.
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Doddridge County gas fracking explosion injures at least 7 “We do not know the ignition source, but we suspect it was a methane explosion,” said Schopp, vice president at Antero