Rio Grande Power Plant
3501 Doniphan Drive El Paso, TX 79922
The plant, which operates three coal-fired Units, is owned by El Paso Electric. These three units operating today are: Rio Grande 6 (1957), Rio Grande 7 (1958), and Rio Grande 8 (1972). They generate 340 MWs of electricity.
The Rio Grande Power Plant (Generating Station) was completed in 1929 to serve a population of 162,000. It was built in the area called the El Paso upper valley, now Sunland Park, New Mexico.
Exposure information for power plants/steam plants:
Steam generated power plants in the 1950s through the 1970s commonly utilized asbestos containing pipe insulation and insulating cements on steam lines running throughout a plant. Steam was used to run turbines, which in turn generated electricity. Asbestos gaskets and rope packing were typically used in this era on steam flanges and steam powered equipment such as pumps, valves, turbines and boilers. Asbestos fireproofing was also commonly used on steel surfaces in power plants.