MINISTER of Labour and Social Security Derrick Kellier says that there are no “earth shattering issues” in the long- anticipated report of the accident which killed three workers at the Jamaica Public Service Company’s (JPS) Old Harbour plant in September 2005.

But Kellier stunned journalists attending the post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House, Monday, when he insisted that only one person died in the accident.

The minister, responding to questions about the delay in releasing the report, asked one journalist if he was sure that three people died in the accident. When the reporter told him that he went to the site at the time, the minister responded: “No not on that occasion. My information is that one person died and two were injured.”

Pushed to confirm his statement, the minister insisted that only one person died, and the other two injured persons have been taken care of. He suggested that the reporters should double-check their facts.

But confirmed report is that three men – Arthur Williams, Woodford Brown and Owen Townsend – died in the accident. Even the JPS admitted in its 2005 annual report that “there was an accident at the Old Harbour plant which resulted in three fatalities”.

The accident occurred while the men were carrying out duties on an area of the power plant that draws water from the sea to cool the generating units. Their colleagues claimed that they were knocked unconscious and killed by toxic fumes.

Families of the dead men are still awaiting the release of the report from the ministry which was ordered by Kellier’s predecessor, Horace Dalley, to complete claims for compensation. The probe was undertaken in September 2005 by a team led by the ministry’s director of occupational safety and health, Neville Moodie.

Mirant, the major shareholder in the JPS, also assigned a five-man team headed by its US-based vice-president of operations, Jim Garlick, to probe the circumstances which led to the men’s death.

Opposition spokesmen, Ruddy Spencer (labour) and Clive Mullings (mining, energy and telecommunications), have been pressing Kellier since April 2006 to release the report. But, the minister has insisted that Cabinet has not approved its release. However, he met with the JPS management in May last year to discuss the findings and requested a comprehensive safety report from the company.

On Monday he told the press briefing that the Cabinet has seen the report, but insisted that he would not release it unless authorised to do so.

“There are no earth -shattering issues in the report and the matters that have been recommended, for the most part, the JPS has undertaken to address those things,” he said.

He added that safety inspectors from his ministry have been monitoring the developments and he is awaiting their latest report to bring to the Cabinet.

“I am sure that after that is done, Cabinet will give me the authority to put the report in the public domain,” he said.