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Coronavirus In Beaver County: Officials Call For Shell Cracker Plant To Be Shut Down After Workers Raise Concerns

UPDATE: Union officials say Shell is temporarily shutting down construction at the Beaver County cracker plant.

MONACA, Pa. (KDKA) - Beaver County officials are calling for the Shell cracker plant to be shut down for at least three days after workers raised concerns related to the potential spread of coronavirus.

On Wednesday, Beaver County Commissioners called on Shell to shut down construction at the cracker plant after workers complained of crowded buses and unsanitary conditions.

The virus has not slowed construction at the multi-billion-dollar cracker plant as thousands of workers continue to speed the project towards completion.

Workers at the cracker plant construction site have been reporting a lack of progress on a laundry list of concerns related to the potential spread of COVID-19.

In addition to photos of crowded meetings on Monday morning, workers sent KDKA pictures of packed buses used to carry workers to and from the site, as well as pictures of unsanitary porta-potties with no hand sanitizer.

One worker sent KDKA's Andy Sheehan a message complaining that workers are at high risk. For its part, Shell has said it's been addressing all of those concerns. They sent a statement that says the health and safety of the workers is their highest concern, and they assured Beaver County Commissioner Daniel Camp the problems will be fixed.

As of Wednesday at noon, the state department of health reported two confirmed cases of coronavirus in Beaver County.

Stay with KDKA for the latest on this developing story.

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