While an investigation tries to solve Morristown’s recurring manhole explosions, Mayor Tim Dougherty wants to add an interim safety measure: Locking manhole covers.
The Mayor said he intends to press the state Board of Public Utilities and Jersey Central Power & Light to install these covers, which he said cost between $1,400 and $1,700 apiece.
“I think they should install these safety measures while the investigation is going on, so nobody else gets hurt,” said the Mayor.
He referred to an Aug. 31 manhole explosion that inflicted second-degree burns on a Morris Township mother who was driving her young boys into Morristown for ice cream.
Partially in response to that incident–one of many manhole explosions and fires in Morristown–the BPU on Thursday authorized JCP&L to hire a “special reliability master” to investigate Morristown network problems stretching back to 2000. A report is expected by Jan. 31, 2012.
Mayor Dougherty, who welcomed the investigation, met on Thursday with a representative of Swiveloc LLC, a Michigan company that produces the special covers.
They are designed to vent gases during an explosion in a way that prevents air from rushing in, preventing a larger second blast. Bolt mechanisms, meanwhile, keep the cover from lifting more than two inches, according to a video on the company’s website.
A spokesman for JCP&L said he could not comment at this time about the covers. “The company would have to review the Mayor’s request,” said Ron Morano.
According to the Swiveloc site, the technology has been tested by the Electric Power Research Institute in Lenox, MA.
“The energy released in a major manhole explosion is equivalent to several sticks of dynamite and can launch a 200 pound cast-iron cover 40 feet or more,” the site says.
“Such explosions are caused by the ignition of combustible gases inside the underground vault. The gases can come from overheating cable insulation or other sources including natural gas leaks, dumped chemicals or gasoline, even decaying animals,” the site says.
