this early on, NBC gives West Fertilizer a big pass: West Fertilizer had few violations, was pillar
of community.
Until late Wednesday, when a massive explosion ripped through its facility in Texas, West Fertilizer Co. was a small firm that attracted little criticism from regulators but plenty of respect from its neighbors.
The company, owned by Adair Grain Inc., now finds itself at the center of one of the largest U.S. industrial disasters this decade, after the blast flattened part of the small town of West, Texas, killing as many as 15 people and injuring more than 160.
In 2006, the Environmental Protection Agency fined the company $2,300 for failing to update its risk management plan in a timely manner. It had been due in 2004. The EPA said it had poor employee training records, failed to document hazards and didn't have a written maintenance program.
The EPA said the company corrected the deficiencies and filed an updated plan in 2011. It said it now complies with EPA regulations.
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NO investigative journalism here.
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/west-fertilizer-had-few-violations-was-pillar-community-1C9509603
