The West Fertilizer explosion and fire that killed 14 people and injured 226 in West, Texas, last April was preventable, according to the U.S. Chemical Safety Board. In a statement released Tuesday, the federal government’s top chemical safety watchdog agency blamed the company and local, state and federal regulators for failing to prevent the incident. CSB’s investigation revealed the state has no fire code and local authorities in smaller counties are prohibited from having them. CSB also found that no code exists to prevent homes from being built near hazardous facilities.
A storage and distribution facility at the plant exploded April 17, 2013 when a fire heated large quantities of ammonium nitrate. Last week a report by E&E revealed state authorities are still struggling to implement chemical and fire safety measures needed to prevent another disaster like the West, Texas, incident.
Photo: Shane.torgerson/Wikipedia
