West Texas Fertilizer Plant Explosion

[JasonPratt]

Still, that should not be ignored... especially if there are indications of arson.

Especially since this is the same area (near Waco).

Not that we should prejudge before expert investigations. But a factory with safety problems, while perfectly sufficient as an explanation in itself, is also more handy as a target.

Having said that, if this was intended as a response to the Branch Davidian assault, the perps would be trying to take credit for it in order to draw the link explicitly, I would think.

[Centurion40]

Still, that should not be ignored... especially if there are indications of arson.

Especially since this is the same area (near Waco).

Not that we should prejudge before expert investigations. But a factory with safety problems, while perfectly sufficient as an explanation in itself, is also more handy as a target.

My thinking exactly.

That said, odds are its purely a tragic accident.

[LongBlade]

Having said that, if this was intended as a response to the Branch Davidian assault, the perps would be trying to take credit for it in order to draw the link explicitly, I would think.

I was under the impression that they were all extinct.

[steve58]

Damn, 12 bodies recovered, but 60 people still unaccounted for.  Terrible tragedy...

[bob48]

OMG that's terrible.

[LongBlade]

It is terrible. Not a surprise the toll will rise. That was a big explosion.

[JasonPratt]

Mom has been scoping out photos of the destruction and says that "leveled" really does describe a lot of it.

[Arctic Blast]

Looks like this plant hadn't even been inspected since 1985.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration most recently inspected the Texas fertilizer plant that exploded Wednesday night in 1985.

Records reviewed by The Associated Press show that OSHA issued the West Chemical & Fertilizer Co., as the plant was called at the time, a $30 fine for a serious violation for storage of anhydrous ammonia.

OSHA cited the plant for four other serious violations of respiratory protection standards but did not issue fines. The maximum fine for a serious violation was $1,000.

It is not unusual for companies to negotiate lower fines.

The explosion near Waco, Texas, killed as many as 15 and injured more than 160 others.

OSHA has jurisdiction over more than 7 million workplaces. It's not uncommon for some companies to go years without inspection.

[son_of_montfort]

This is a really terrible tragedy. Before we had more info out of Boston, I worried they were connected as Domestic terrorism (tax day, patriot's day, OK bombing anniversary). But is seems that is was more an industrial accident (possibly from a lack of rigorous inspections).

The poor town looks almost gone. I really feel for those people in West, Texas and I wish them the best.

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

Texas fertilizer company didn't heed disclosure rules before blast

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/20/us-usa-explosion-regulation-idUSBRE93J09N20130420

The second issue in the article is that the stuff they did do was not followed up on.

"A separate EPA program, known as Tier II, requires reporting of ammonium nitrate and other hazardous chemicals stored above certain quantities. Tier II reports are submitted to local fire departments and emergency planning and response groups to help them plan for and respond to chemical disasters. In Texas, the reports are collected by the Department of State Health Services. Over the last seven years, according to reports West Fertilizer filed, 2012 was the only time the company stored ammonium nitrate at the facility.It reported having 270 tons on site."That's just a god awful amount of ammonium nitrate," said Bryan Haywood, the owner of a hazardous chemical consulting firm in Milford, Ohio. "If they were doing that, I would hope they would have gotten outside help."In response to a request from Reuters, Haywood, who has been a safety engineer for 17 years, reviewed West Fertilizer's Tier II sheets from the last six years. He said he found several items that should have triggered the attention of local emergency planning authorities - most notably the sudden appearance of a large amount of ammonium nitrate in 2012."As a former HAZMAT coordinator, that would have been a red flag for me," said Haywood, referring to hazardous materials."


This seems to me the same issue as the financial meltdown from Greenspan. He simply did not believe in regulatory oversight even though he took the job to do it. He was in fact a spoiler.  Whoever these guys dealt with also seem to have a total free market bias.

[Windigo]

don't need no gub'mint to pass no regulations... regulations are communist, unfettered capitalism is the answer to everything


NOT!!!!


rhetoric from the right and left is just that, it protects no one

[LongBlade]

don't need no gub'mint to pass no regulations... regulations are communist, unfettered capitalism is the answer to everything


NOT!!!!


rhetoric from the right and left is just that, it protects no one

Strawman much?

[Windigo]

had to backtrack from the initial statement and my typical poke at the far right ....

I thought my last comment was kinda stating the obvious....

like "middle-aged men should avoid eating chilie without having an exit strategy"

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

Chilie has it's own exit strategy. ;)

[Martok]

<snicker> 

Truer words were never spoken.  ;)