Explosive company implicated in botched California blast had expired license.
The Contractors State License Board has reported that the general engineering and building license of Alpha Explosives – a Lincoln-based company subcontracted for the demolition by the Bakersfield power plant project’s prime contractor – expired three days before the plant implosion.
“What’s unfortunate is, what may very well have been a clerical error on their part could turn into something more serious because there was a serious incident that happened while they were unlicensed,” CSLB spokesman Rick Lopes said.
Lopes added that the board had no record of a license having been issued to Demtech Inc., the DuBois, Wyo. company coming brought on by Alpha to manage the explosives used in Saturday’s implosion. He was unsure whether Demtech does business under a different name in California.
Cleveland Wrecking Co., the prime contractor on the overall demolition, did have a valid contractors license at the time of the demolition, but Lopes said Alpha needed one as well because it worked on the project.
Depending on what becomes of the implosion investigations being led by Cal-OSHA and the California Public Utilities Commission, Lopes said, the licensing board could pursue fines and even misdemeanour charges against Alpha.
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