DALLAS
(Reuters) - A deadly 2013 fertilizer warehouse explosion in Texas that
claimed at least 14 lives could have been prevented, U.S. safety
investigators said on Tuesday.
Between 40 and 60 tons of ammonium
nitrate exploded 22 minutes after a fire broke out at the West
Fertilizer Co warehouse on April 17, 2013, leveling a neighborhood in
the town of West, 70 miles southwest of Dallas.
The ammonium nitrate, which the company supplied to farmers to use as
fertilizer in the region, was stored in wooden bins within a wooden
building that did not have a sprinkler system, said Rafael Moure-Eraso,
chairman of the U.S. Chemical Safety Board.
"(The fire and explosion) resulted from the failure of a company to
take the necessary steps to avert a preventable fire and explosion and
from the inability of federal, state and local regulatory agencies to
identify a serious hazard and correct it," Moure-Eraso said.
The
fertilizer should have been stored in fireproof structures to protect it
from possible ignition sources within a concrete building with a
sprinkler system to suppress a blaze, he said.
Many U.S. fertilizer warehouses store ammonium nitrate in wooden bins, the board said.
The CSB said the state of Texas and federal regulators had much to do
to strengthen rules to prevent explosions like the one in West, which
injured 236 people.
"Our
findings so far show that there is a patchwork of federal and state
regulations with huge gaps that allowed this accident to happen," said
Johnnie Banks, the board's lead investigator.
Volunteer firefighters battling the blaze did not know the risks they
faced from fertilizer stored at the warehouse, because of lax regulation
of volunteer training and inadequate preparations for fires at chemical
facilities, he said.
Firefighting associations and the chemical industry offer differing
guidance on how to fight a fire involving ammonium nitrate. Some say a
large blaze should be allowed to burn while others say the flames should
be doused with water.
The firefighters in West were beginning to withdraw from the warehouse
to take up defensive positions at a nearby apartment building when the
blast occurred. The explosion registered as a 2.1 magnitude event on
seismographs.
The board also said that safer blends of ammonium
nitrate that could prevent explosions should be considered, in addition
to tightening standards at chemical warehouses.Both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration have regulatory oversight of fertilizer warehouses.
The board said OSHA needs to clarify standards governing the operation of ammonium nitrate storage facilities.
Moure-Eraso said he believes EPA has the authority to require the use
of inherently safer technology in their operation. A criticism of the
agency the CSB has made in previous investigations.
The Chemical Safety Board investigates explosions and fires at U.S.
chemical plants. It has no regulatory or law enforcement authority, but
makes recommendations to government and industry.
No comments:
Post a Comment