GOP, Chamber of Commerce and Fox News: Did They Play a Role in the Fertilizer Plant Deaths?

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/art-levine/culprits-in-fertilizer-pl_b_3151991.html

Art Levine

In his oration Thursday remembering the 15 people killed by the explosion of the fertilizer plant in West, Texas last week, President Obama said, "We give thanks for the courage, and the compassion, and the incredible grace of the people of West." But there was a complete absence of such courage and compassion exhibited by the multitude of state and federal oversight agencies that failed to take common-sense steps to prevent this and other recent industrial disasters. In fact, they have been hobbled by a successful 35-year war of deregulation led by the Chamber of Commerce, the GOP, conservative think tanks, and in recent decades by Rush Limbaugh and Fox News, all aided by their allies in Congress, a leading regulatory expert contends.

"Because of their consistent opposition to anything that OSHA or the EPA does, they bear much of the responsibility for this and other tragedies," says University of Texas Law Professor Thomas McGarity, a Member Scholar with the Center for Progressive Reform and author of a comprehensive new book, Freedom to Harm: The Lasting Legacy of the Laissez Faire Revival. The combination of an overwhelming anti-regulation, anti-tax conservative media, think-tank and business lobbying assault has essentially "debilitated" the nation's regulatory system designed to protect consumers, workers, investors and the environment --including what McGarity calls the "hollowed out" regulatory agencies run by the Obama administration. (A spokesman for the Chamber of Commerce declined to respond to McGarity's critique.)

The evidence is now overwhelming that lax enforcement -- the facility was only inspected once by OSHA in the plant's 51-year-history, in 1985 -- was abetted by the seven state and Federal agencies that looked the other way or failed to see its 270 tons of potentially explosive ammonium nitrate. That's the same chemical used by Timothy McVeigh to blow up the federal building in Oklahoma City. Thanks to strong reporting by The Huffington Post, The New York Times, Bloomberg News, Mother Jones, and In These Times labor reporter Mike Elk, among others, we've learned a lot in the last week about the dysfunctional, pseudo-regulation by uncoordinated state and federal agencies. That, in turn, created the regulatory climate that made last week's plant explosion almost inevitable.

Of course, it's disturbing now to learn of OSHA's failures, that the EPA was blocked by Congress and the Bush administration from regulating chemical plants and that plant officials didn't tell federal agencies that their facility had flammable or explosive materials. In fact, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was apparently unaware that the plant even existed or that it was stockpiling 270 tons of ammonium nitrate -- more than 1,350 times the threshold mandated for reporting such chemicals. The GAO has been asked by Democratic lawmakers to look into these "oversight gaps" at the West Fertilizer Company and other similar facilities.

Chris Hayes video: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/all-in-/51669040

FULL story at link.

[Thinkingabout]

1. Contrary to the advise of Phil Gramm, "if you would just deregulate them everything will be fine".

Industries does not want to regulate themselves and in cases of regulations on industries they push to the limits what they can get away with. What troubles me also, now Perry, Crazy Cruz and Cronyn are pushing to get FEMA funds, why is the tax payers always picking up the tab when companies screw up. This is an example of corporate welfare.

[Wednesdays]

2. The headline sounds like tinfoil hat stuff

But since it's from Huffington Post, I'll give it the benefit of the doubt.

Kicked and recc'ed.

[Buzz Clik]

3. Hm. Let's discuss that further.

The attitude being kicked around in reaction to the West fertilizer explosion is that it is the direct result of deregulation in Texas. No one can support that with anything substantial, but it plays well. As a result, it is repeated as if it is now fact. Extending the dots to the GOP, Fox, and the Chamber of Commerce(?wtf?) is the next logical step. Perry has been blamed, too, but he brings that upon himself by trumpeting how Texas is industry friendly and soft on regulations.

Just as an aside, calling an OP "tin foil hat stuff" and then giving it a k&r is a rookie's mistake. And the yellow dog? A bit much.

[Buzz Clik]

4. "The evidence is now overwhelming that lax enforcement". Oh, really?

This is mindless repetition of nonsense.

A fire at a fertilizer handling and mixing facility is bad news. It becomes a nightmare when ammonium nitrate is present. A fire at a facility housing unreported ammonium nitrate is a catastrophe.

Yes, the State Chemist of Texas there that very week, and he had the opportunity to discern that ammonium nitrate was there. He either missed it, ignored it, or simply didn't report it. Texas Department of State Health Services seemed to have some knowledge that ammonium nitrate was being handled, but did not share the information.

The real problem was the dishonesty exhibited by the facility owner/operator. If he would have openly reported that he was housing ammonium nitrate, nobody dies. Period.

[CJCRANE]

5. An inspection regime that only relies on honesty

is not a very effective inspection regime, it's simply taking someone's word for it.

It's possible that a more stringent inspection wouldn't have picked it up, but that's no excuse for not trying.

[Buzz Clik]

6. And this is the way it's done across the country.

What is your solution? Weekly visits during planting season to take chemical samples of every fertilizer product that are then analyzed?

The owner merely had to report that he was selling ammonium nitrate to DHS, fill out the paper work, and properly label and protect the product. And no one would have died.

[CJCRANE]

7. When you buy a used car

do you always just trust the salesman or do you check the car?

If I buy a used car and the brakes fail then I can blame the salesman but it's probably too late by then. I'm better off testing the brakes for myself.

The same applies with any business or service: "trust but verify".

[malaise]

8. Kick and recommend n/t