The cable television subcontractors who pierced a Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. natural gas pipeline in Westminster two hours before a nearby house exploded last month did not violate any state occupational health and safety guidelines, according to state officials.
In a report released yesterday, Maryland Occupational Safety and Health (MOSH) said that neither Apollo Trenching Co. -- the Howard County company whose digging equipment struck the gas main Jan. 19 -- nor Prestige Cable Television of Maryland put employees at undue risk that afternoon.
The report, contrary to media accounts yesterday, does not place blame on anyone for the explosion. The blast, sparked by a sump pump in the basement of a vacant house, destroyed one home, damaged 65 others and caused more than $1 million in damage to the Autumn Ridge neighborhood in north Westminster.
"Our focus is a very narrow one," said Craig Lowry, chief of compliance for MOSH. "Our job is to make sure that employers are meeting their obligations for a safe and healthful workplace. It is not our charge or responsibility to look at negligence or fault."
Mr. Lowry said his report does not say that the gas pipelines were mismarked by BGE or Miss Utility, the one-call underground pipe locating service that contractors are required to call before digging.
The report is the second state-issued document on the explosion to be released this week. Monday, the Public Service Commission placed blame for the rupture on Apollo.