SPRINGDALE, Pa. - A blast of air and dust from the implosion of two smokestacks at a shuttered coal-fired power plant in western Pennsylvania last week felled power poles and caused damage to nearby homes.
But the demolition company is vowing full repairs.The implosion at the Cheswick Generating Station in Springdale, a borough just northeast of Pittsburgh, occurred shortly after 8 a.m.
Friday, bringing the stacks down with a loud crash and a huge cloud of dust. One tower stood about 550 feet (170 meters) tall and the other 750 feet (230 meters).Controlled Demolition said in a statement that the chimneys fell "exactly where they were supposed to" and noise and vibration levels were "well below" allowable state environmental protection limits, KDKA-TV reported.
But, the company said, the larger chimney's steel liner "focused air pressure as it collapsed upon impact."Bruno Moretti, Allegheny County's emergency management coordinator, said the air blast broke windows and blew dust from the fallen stacks into homes.