On April 17, 2013, an ammonium nitrate explosion occurred at the Western Fertilizer and Distillery Facility of West Fertilizer, Texas, eighteen miles (29 km) north of Waco, while emergency services personnel responded to fires at the facility. Fifteen people were killed, more than 160 people injured, and more than 150 buildings damaged or destroyed. Researchers have confirmed that ammonium nitrate is an exploding material. On May 11, 2016, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives stated that the fire had been deliberately set.
Video West Fertilizer Company explosion
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The West Fertilizer Company has been supplying chemicals to farmers since its inception in 1962. In 2013, the company is owned by Adair Grain, Inc. and employs nine workers at the facility. Adair Grain, Inc. wholly owned by Donald Adair and his wife Wanda
At the time of the incident, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) had reviewed the plant in 1985. According to records obtained by the Associated Press, OSHA cites plants for improper storage of anhydrous ammonia and fined $ 30. OSHA could have fined the company as much as $ 1,000. OSHA also cites the plant for breach of respiratory protection standard, but does not impose fines. OSHA officials say the facility does not exist on the "National Emphasis Plan" for inspection, as it is not a manufacturer, has no record of major accidents, and the Environmental Protection Agency does not consider it a big risk.
After complaints in 2006 about ammonia odors originating from the facility, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality investigated and cited operators for not having permission for two storage tanks containing anhydrous ammonia. Permission is issued after the operator brings the facility in accordance with the regulations and agency recommendations. Also in 2006, the EPA fined the owner $ 2,300 for issues that included not submitting a timely risk management program plan. In June 2012, the Pipe Security Bureau and the Raw Materials Security Administration of the US Department of Transportation further fined the $ 5,250 facility for violations related to ammonia storage of anhydrous.
According to records of open demand by Reuters, the plant has a long history of light theft, probably by people who want to use anhydrous ammonia to make methamphetamine. The facility does not have a burglar alarm, or even a fenced perimeter. It installed a surveillance system in 2009 after law enforcement suggested they do it.
In an emergency planning report filed with the EPA in 2011, company officials said the ammonia storage tank did not represent a significant fire or explosion hazard. The tanks are still intact after the fire and explosion.
According to a recent filing with EPA at the end of 2012, the company stated that it stores 540,000 pounds (270 tons of short, 240 Â °) ammonium nitrate and 110,000 pounds (55 tons short; 50 Â °) of anhydrous ammonia at the site. A week after the explosion, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told the Senate investigators that the company apparently did not disclose ammonium nitrate stock to his department. The federal law requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to be notified whenever one has more than a ton of ammonium nitrate in hand, or 400 pounds (180 kg) if ammonium nitrate is combined with combustible material.
Maps West Fertilizer Company explosion
Fire and explosion
The facility caught fire on Wednesday, April 17, 2013. At 7:50:38. CDT (00:50 UTC, 18 April), when firefighters tried to extinguish the fire, the explosion exploded with a force of 7.5-10 tons TNT.
After weeks of inquiry, the cause of the initial fires remains unknown; the authorities put aside the weather, natural causes, ammonia anhydride, and ammonium nitrate in rail cars as a possible cause.
In May 2016, the BATF announced that it had determined that the fire had been deliberately set.
Aftermath
The massive explosion obliterated the Western Fertilizer Company factory and caused heavy damage and further damage to the surrounding area. The numbers for people who die or get injured vary initially.
Damage
In addition to cultivated plants, damaged buildings include public public high schools, which are located next to the facility. About 50 units of two-storey apartment buildings were destroyed.
The blast damaged the West Rest Haven nursing home, and many residents were evacuated. Many residents of nursing homes receive pieces of flying glass, but emergency personnel at the scene judge that most of these injuries are not life-threatening.
On April 20, some residents who tried to return to their destroyed homes were rejected, as the leaking gas tank caused a small fire.
According to the company's insurance firm, United States Fire Insurance Morristown, New Jersey, the facility is only protected by $ 1 million in liability insurance. According to official estimates of state and company officials, this amount does not even begin to cover the cost of damage. In addition, according to The Dallas Morning News , Texas law allows fertilizer storage facilities to operate without liability insurance at all, even when they store hazardous materials.
Injuries and fatalities
West Mayor Tommy Muska told the Waco Tribune-Herald that on the night of April 17 six or seven volunteers from the city had not been found. Director of West EMS. George Smith, who was wounded, said he believes at least two emergency responders were killed.
"We have confirmed deaths," said Texas D.L Department of Public Security spokesman. Wilson told a midnight press conference on April 17. "We have a large number of injuries... more than 100 injuries at this time." Wilson did not confirm or deny previous reports that the death toll could be in the range of 60 to 70. He said the blast zone was "like the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City," comparing its impact on the Oklahoma City bombing, and that homes and businesses "50 to 75" were damaged. Sgt. William Patrick Swanton of the Waco Police Department said the operation had entered a "search and rescue mode", aimed at finding survivors and recovering those who might be trapped in buildings. He said at least 160 people had been injured, and firefighters who fought the early fire were still missing. Swanton quoted local environmental officials and emergency personnel as saying there was no public risk of smoke rising from the facility.
More than 100 people were reported injured in the blast, and were initially transported to an emergency triage installed on the West High School football field. It was then transferred to the community center because of its proximity to the still-lit facility. Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center in Waco received more than 40 people who were injured because of treatment. Patients are also treated at Providence Waco Health Network, John Peter Smith Fort Worth Health Network, Dallas Parkland Memorial Hospital, and Scott Hospital and White Memorial Temple.
Authorities announced on April 19 that twelve bodies had been recovered, sixty missing, and at least 200 people wounded. The twelve dies included the first ten respondents as well as two civilians who volunteered to fight the fire.
The latest confirmed death toll was fifteen casualties, and about 160 to 200 people were injured.
Reaction
Those living in and around the West reported that the explosion felt like an earthquake. The US Geological Survey recorded the explosion as a 2.1 magnitude quake. The explosion was heard near Hillsboro, Waxahachie, DeSoto, and as far north of Arlington. Windows was destroyed in Abbott, 7 miles (11 km) west of NNE.
Texas Governor Rick Perry issued a statement on the night of April 17:
President Barack Obama issued his own statement on April 18:
Due to toxic fumes and a large number of displaced families, the West Independent School District announced on its Twitter feed that the five school districts will remain closed until further notice. They reopened on April 22. The nearby school district of the Abbott Independent School District (ISD) and Penelope ISD also closed their school for a day.
Waco police indicated that they would treat the explosion site as a crime scene because of caution. The US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives announced on the morning of April 18 that it would send a national response team - including fire investigators, explosives, chemists, and dog units - to investigate the site. The US Agency for Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation, an independent federal agency that investigates accidents involving industrial chemicals, also sent a large investigative team to the West to start looking for the cause of the disaster.
Urban Search and Rescue Texas Task Force 1 and Texas Task Force 2 Urban Search and Rescue were deployed on the morning of April 18 to help search and rescue. An incident management team from Texas A & amp; M Forest Service is also deployed, such as Veterinary Emergency Team from Texas A & amp; M College of Veterinary Medicine & amp; Biomedical Sciences.
Perry's governor declared McLennan area a disaster area, and on April 22, President Obama issued the Emergency Declaration, which provided state aid with 75% of federal funds. On April 18, the Texas National Guard sent members of the 6th Civilian Support Team to the area to test air quality and assess chemical and biological hazards.
On June 13, 2013, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) refused additional assistance to the city, largely based on the ability of the State of Texas to provide the funds needed to rebuild. However, on 2 August 2013, FEMA reversed its original decision and approved a major disaster declaration for the West.
Investigation
The department of fire marshal said that investigators interviewed "nearly 300 people," and followed 160 clues in their initial investigation.
In May 2013, Texas Department of Public Security instructed the Texas Rangers and the Sheriff McLennan Department to join the Texas Fire Marshall Office and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and US Explosives, in a criminal investigation into the explosion.
Investigators are blaming the stock of ammonium nitrate fertilizers stored in trash cans in the seeds and fertilizers on the property for an explosion but failing to identify what started the actual fires that caused the explosion.
On April 22, 2014, the US Agency for Chemical Security and Hazard Investigations released preliminary results of its investigation into the explosion. It was found that company officials failed to safely store chemicals in their containers, and federal, state and local regulations on the handling of hazardous materials were inadequate. In a statement released next to the report, the chairman of the board, Dr. Rafael Moure-Eraso, stated: "Fire and explosion in Western Fertilizer can be prevented.It should never happen.This is due to the failure of the company to take the necessary measures to prevent fires and explosions that can be prevented and from the inability of the federal regulatory agency, state and local governments to identify serious hazards and improve them. "The CSB annual investigation found that 1,351 facilities nationwide store ammonium nitrate, and that many of their areas have no regulations to keep the facility away from the population. Moure-Eraso urged new and revised regulations, stating "there is no substitute for an efficient regulatory system that ensures that all firms operate at the same high standards We can not rely on voluntary compliance."
ATF announced on May 11, 2016, that the fire that caused the explosion was deliberately set. However, they declined to comment on the possibility of the suspect, although a $ 50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest was offered. These findings are then debated by various other experts, noting that the ATF findings are based primarily on their inability to find other causes for early fires.
The Waco-McLennan County Public Health District in collaboration with the Texas Department of Health Services performed and completed an epidemiological study to describe the physical injury associated with the incident. This report was issued in June 2014 and the research was later published as a scientific script in 2016.
Regulatory changes
One year later, in 2014, The Wall Street Journal reported that the regulation of fertilizer storage in the US has not changed.
By 2015, the Texas Legislature authorized House Bill 942 to regulate the storage and inspection of ammonium nitrate and authorize the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and marshals of local fires to influence and enforce the regulation.
Legal Charges
At least seven lawsuits were filed against Adair Grain Inc., which has the facilities of the Western Fertilizer Company. On October 11, 2015, the day before the jury selection began, the party reached a partial resolution in one case. The terms have not been disclosed. The settlements include the families of three civilians killed in fires and explosions.
The trial for the second group of plaintiffs is expected to begin by the end of 2016.
See also
- The ammonium nitrate disaster
- Boston Marathon bombing, which happened a few days earlier
- PEPCON disaster
- Texas City disaster, 1947
- AZF (factory) explosion, 2001
- Unsolved death list
References
External links
- Investigation of Explosion and Fire of Western Fertilizer - US Chemical Security Council
- Final report (Archive)
- CSB Video Documenting Explosion Damage in West, Texas
- "Texas fertilizer plant explosions gather news and comments". The Guardian .
- Western Fertilizer, Out of Grid: Unidentified Chemical Facility Problems: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Mayan World Security, Infrastructure Protection and Security Technology from Home Affairs Security Committee, 114th Congress, First Session, August 1, 2013
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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