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TECO's Big Bend Plant Belches Cloud Of Coal Dust

News Channel 8 image by MICHAEL SPOONEYBARGER

A state official says it's too soon to comment on the discharge's potential threat to the public or the environment.

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By RUSSELL RAY | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 11, 2009

TAMPA - A cloud of coal dust gushed from the smokestack at Tampa Electric's Big Bend Power Plant this afternoon after one of its coal-fired units unexpectedly went offline, TECO officials said.

The cloud quickly dissipated and posed no risk to public safety or the environment, company spokesman Rick Morera said.

"It was such a short duration, probably less than a minute," Morera said.

TECO officials didn't know why the coal-fired unit went offline.

Pam Vazquez, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, said it was too soon to comment on the discharge's potential threat to the public or the environment around the 1,800-megawatt power plant near Apollo Beach.

"I wouldn't speculate about potential impacts until we know exactly what happened and exactly what was released," Vazquez said.

When the coal-fired unit went offline, it created pressure inside the smokestack, pushing the ash and dust into the air, Morera said.

"The fans tripped and it created a positive pressure in the boiler," he said. "Whatever is in there at that time pops out."

The Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County monitors air quality near the Big Bend plant, said Jason Waters, the commission's compliance manager for air quality. Filters from the monitors will be sent to a lab for testing.

"We'll be able to see what the impact was at the monitors, for sure," he said.

Waters said ash and coal dust are regulated air pollutants and that the effect of such a discharge "depends on the quantity." Exactly how much ash and dust was discharged wasn't immediately known.

The cloud of coal dust was spotted by a helicopter pilot working for WFLA, Channel 8.

Reporter Russell Ray can be reached at (813) 259-7870 or rray@tampatrib.com.

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