Steam
Leaks Costing U.S. Corporations $Billions Annually
In the throws of a failing economy and amidst the ever present and
growing energy crisis, lurks an even bigger culprit than your father’s
old gas guzzler. Steam.
Although some may view steam as a fleeting source of energy and an unlikely candidate for concern in world energy conservation, the fact remains that steam is still a living necessity in a vast majority of U.S. hospitals, power plants and manufacturing facilities, and in spite of it’s environmentally “green” disposition, is also single handedly responsible for billions of dollars in fuel consumption every year.
The U.S. Department of energy reports that over 45% of all the fuel burned by U.S. manufacturers is consumed to make steam. Making these losses critical not only to the companies involved but the U.S. economy as a whole.
Bill Doherty, Chief Engineer of American Plant Maintenance, Inc., an energy conservation corporation dedicated to the survey and repair of steam and compressed gas systems, claims the problem stems mainly from a lack of awareness and preventive maintenance.
One Dead, Dozens Injured
At Explosion Near Grand Central
A massive steam explosion, a crater, a five-alarm
fire send Midtown into chaos; terrorism ruled out, but asbestos cloud
is new concern
At least one person is dead and dozens were
injured when a steam explosion ruptured the intersection at 41st Street
and Lexington Avenue, right next-door to Grand Central Station, at
the height of the Manhattan evening rush hour.
Eyewitnesses described a plume
of steam, rocks, mud and flames, followed by a massive shower of debris--concrete
shrapnel from the blown-out street surface.
The scene by nightfall was eerily reminiscent to New Yorkers who remember
the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"I heard repeated reverberating explosions," said Sandy Brown, a 34-year-old Web site producer who witnessed the blast.