Owner of West Fertilizer Plant Says 'Heart is Broken'

[Hissyspit]

Source: Houston Chronicle

Owner of West fertilizer plant says 'heart is broken'

By Houston Chronicle | April 19, 2013 | Updated: April 19, 2013 4:36pm

The owner of the fertilizer plant in West that suffered an explosion leading to the deaths of at least a dozen people this week has spoken for the first time about the tragedy.

Donald Adair, lifelong resident of West and owner of Adair Grain Inc., issued a statement Friday afternoon expressing sympathy for those affected.

"My heart is broken with grief for the tragic losses to so many families in our community," Adair said. "I know that everyone has been deeply affected by this incident. Loved ones have been injured or killed. Homes have been damaged or destroyed. Our hearts go out to everyone who has suffered."

Adair said he would never forget the "selfless sacrifice of first responders who died" in the fire.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Owner-of-West-fertilizer-plant-says-heart-is-4448339.php

[mucifer]

1. He was warned. He needs to go to prison for not caring about safety and being greedy.

[Hissyspit]

5. You mean like the mine owners, or Donald Rumsfeld?

[Laura PourMeADrink]

23. can you fill me in? what was he warned about?

[sofa king]

53. Allow me...

... First, let me point out that the false equivalency battle is already raging. RNC--excuse me, NBC--reports that West was a "pillar of the community":

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/west-fertilizer-was-pillar-community-1C9509603

... While the Los Angeles Times, which still has investigative journalists, calls West's regulatory record "spotty."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-fi-mo-west-fertilizer-co-had-spotty-regulatory-history-records-show-20130418,0,519911.story

West Fertilizer Co. paid $5,250 last year to the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration over violations discovered in 2011, according to records reviewed by the Los Angeles Times.

A federal inspector found three violations at the fertilizer facility that included transporting anhydrous ammonia without a security plan and carrying it in tanks that were improperly labeled, records show.

The details related in both articles are roughly the same, despite the completely deceptive headline in the first article.

The reason why regulators are so nit-picky about anhydrous ammonia is now painfully obvious. Minor violations can easily translate into major disasters, and for-profit businesses are always inclined to maximize profits by reducing safety expenditures. Whether someone got in and sabotaged the place or some combination of failures led to this, something got past regulation and safety procedure to make it happen.

[KatyMan]

30. Links....

sources?

[mzmolly]

2. Followed by - "We don't need to stinkin' regulation!"

[marlakay]

3. Spoken from a guy who kept any regulation away

To fill his pockets. So his heart is broken but his wallets are full....

[KatyMan]

31. Links....

sources? because what was reported today in Texas is that the plant had some issues in 2005 and cleared. As of 2011 there were no reported violations. Do you have something else?

[marlakay]

32. Sorry just heresay on Rachel's show

last night and don't remember word for word.

[KatyMan]

34. So now, we at DU

are convicting on hearsay and not doing our own due diligence?

[La Lioness Priyanka]

66. umm unless we are all taking up investigative journalism

then we at some point have to believe what we hear or read from journalists

[CBHagman]

41. Links to Rachel Maddow's site.

She's been covering the Texas explosion alongside all the other events -- the attacks and aftermath in Boston, the background check bill cloture vote, etc.

Part of her report on the explosion, with discussion of safety issues, historical context, links to relevant documents, etc. I have not followed the links to the documents. I have, as per DU rules, only posted portions of the report, so it's up to you to read the rest.

[url]http://openchannel.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/19/17818046-texas-fertilizer-plant-also-stored-explosive-chemical-used-in-oklahoma-city-bomb?lite[/url]

West Fertilizer is owned by Adair Grain, a small company with only seven or eight employees. The company declined to comment when reached by phone by NBC News.

The company has been the subject of several disciplinary actions from state and federal regulators:

Last summer, the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration fined West Fertilizer $10,000 for safety violations, including planning to transport anhydrous ammonia without adequate security and failing to properly label ammonia tanks. The company paid a reduced fine of $5,250 after agreeing to take corrective action. The fine was reported by several news organizations.

In 2006, the company was fined $2,300 by the EPA for not having filed a risk management plan, according to the EPA's compliance database. 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 – making no mention of the presence of ammonium nitrate – and was then in compliance with EPA regulations.

Also in 2006, the state Department of Environmental Quality found that the company was operating without a permit for its two 12,000-gallon tanks for anhydrous ammonia, which is stored as a liquid under high pressure. The state department hadn't known about the tanks until a neighbor complained of a "very bad" smell of ammonia at night. The chemical is used on farms directly as a fertilizer, and can be combined with nitric acid to make ammonium nitrate fertilizer. No state permit for the tanks had been required when the plant was built in 1962, and it was grandfathered in until a 2004 change in state law required even those older plants to have permits.

[susanr516]

44. As of this morning

http://news.yahoo.com/texas-fertilizer-company-didnt-heed-disclosure-rules-blast-123833418--finance.html

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The fertilizer plant that exploded on Wednesday, obliterating part of a small Texas town and killing at least 14 people, had last year been storing 1,350 times the amount of ammonium nitrate that would normally trigger safety oversight by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Yet a person familiar with DHS operations said the company that owns the plant, West Fertilizer, did not tell the agency about the potentially explosive fertilizer as it is required to do, leaving one of the principal regulators of ammonium nitrate - which can also be used in bomb making - unaware of any danger there.

Fertilizer plants and depots must report to the DHS when they hold 400 lb (180 kg) or more of the substance. Filings this year with the Texas Department of State Health Services, which weren't shared with DHS, show the plant had 270 tons of it on hand last year.
-----

It seems no one knew the company was storing tons of ammonium nitrate on site. The people who sent their kids to school every day didn't know. The people who had parents in the nursing home didn't know. The first responders didn't know.

I am so angry and so sad.

[virgogal]

4. This has been totally lost because of the Marathon events. Sad !!!

[jsr]

27. No kidding.

[MrSlayer]

6. Fuck this guy. He's responsible.

His plant was unsafe, period. The whole idea of this town built around the plant is insane.

[ZRT2209]

10. I'm surprised they didn't have the school children working IN the plant

this is Texas after all

[bunnies]

35. I was the ONE person that voted to hide this.

I can't believe this shit is allowed to stand. We have many good DUers from Texas and this post is asinine. Seriously. WTF?!

[Carolina]

39. Alert? Hide?

There was nothing wrong with post considering repukes truly would like to roll back the clock and overturn all labor regulations including child labor laws.

I have served on many DU juries and I cannot believe how casually some on this board hit the alert tab. Iam glad the other jurors voted to LEAVE IT ALONE!

[tarheelsunc]

50. Are the many good DUers from Texas responsible for legislation there?

The state government is ruled in large part by RWNJs, so that post is in no way a reflection of Texan DUers who probably disagree with their state government even more than the rest of us do.

[NutmegYankee]

12. Not sure you can knock the plant for that.

Looking at aerial photos of the town, it looks like the town grew around the plant. The plant was likely once surrounded by fields.

A fun example is Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach, VA. In the early 1960s it was all alone in farmland, but now is surrounded by a city of nearly 500,000 people. And then people comment that it's crazy to have a jet base right in the middle of a city .

[MrSlayer]

16. I'm not blaming the plant for that foolishness.

But clearly someone didn't think this thing through.

[NutmegYankee]

17. Who has time for thinking?

Hell, lets put a fireworks factory right in the middle of a town! What could go wrong?

[SamKnause]

37. Fireworks

Thanks for posting this video.

Common sense seems to be in short supply the world over.

[BethanyQuartz]

48. Should plants have to buy a buffer zone?

It does lead to a question about whether businesses and government facilities that handle and store dangerous substances should have to purchase a buffer zone in addition to the land they intend to use. After all, even if the plant was surrounded by fields at one time, it isn't the responsibility of the owners of those fields to absorb the cost of never being able to sell their land to those who would build homes, businesses, and schools too close to the plant for safety.

[NutmegYankee]

54. Why should the plant or government be responsible to buy that land?

Perhaps the local governing authority should keep it zoned for farmland. This is a problem all over the country. A farmer builds a pig farm and lives their for decades, then a wealthy couple builds a house nearby and goes on the attack over the smell.

I'm totally against this build then push away the old phenomenon.

[BethanyQuartz]

57. I didn't say the farmers had to sell

Unless they like the price.

Of course Imminent Domain is an issue, and a growing one since our Supreme Court, in it's infinite wisdom, has basically said governments can buy up private land to turn over to private corporations, but that is a separate issue entirely.

[BethanyQuartz]

65. Eminent

I woke up in the middle of the night thinking, "Did I spell 'eminent' wrong?"

Stupid brain!

[Sunlei]

56. yes the corp. should have to contain their explosive materials from any worse case situation.

They could have built a wall or an earthen berm. or underground storage with a berm to direct blast energy UP. Anything is better than nothing.

Looks like they did nothing for a very long time and just took the risk.

[NutmegYankee]

60. If the company was only surrounded by fields when it opened...

Why did they need to take any action? It's not their fault a bunch of dumb asses built homes right next to them.

If you live in a rural area, you'd understand my point of view a bit better. I see people build houses next to farms all the time then start complaining about smells or noise and the like. One even built next to a gravel company, then started complaining about dump truck traffic.

[Sunlei]

61. hahaha , ok if we have a dam break or a nuke plant disaster we'll use your say nothing idea.

we were here first

[NutmegYankee]

63. You failed to understand the point nt

[jannyk]

7. Fucking Hypocrite! nt

[eggplant]

8. Well, that's right neighborly of him to say.

And now he will have no difficulty pleading guilty to whatever crimes he is charged with, right?

[ZRT2209]

9. Rick Perry starved the regulatory agency from funding

on the news they said a plant like this would be inspected once every 67 years (so basically, never)

[Ken Burch]

15. And Perry probably sees the explosion as "God's will" or something like that.

Probably thinks folks in West deserved this for not hating gays or "Moozlims" enough.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

20. And now he, and his minions, want to take national stage for air time after the West

explosion. Not sure if he went today - but yesterday held the news conference in Austin - 120 miles away - the chickenshit.

[Carolina]

40. and the SOB

wants federal aid.

Repuke hypocrisy knows no limits.

[Blue State Bandit]

43. Any federal aide distributed should be for...

the relocation of West residence out of Texas and paid directly to those wishing to leave; no money to Texas state agencies. I'm sure legislators from East Coast states would have no problem offering such an amendment after the actions of the Texas delegation in the wake of Sandy.

[Carolina]

45. Touche, Blue State Bandit

Problem is many of those red state innocent victims are probably the very ones doubly victimized by the RW propanganda machine. Thus many among them probably voted for the very policies that have now wreaked havoc with their lives, most notably we don't need no gov't regulation

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. I don't feel the least bit sorry for him.

Greed kills.

[valerief]

13. Bastard LET IT HAPPEN!!!! nt

[Ken Burch]

14. His heart is broken...but will he accept responsibility and pay for what he caused?

Notice how, to him, this is about HIS feelings.

[DearHeart]

36. Exactly! I don't remember hearing him say that he would pay damages

and help these poor people out. What a Scumbag!

[davidpdx]

64. We all know he won't. In fact he'll probably be broke (not that I feel sorry for him)

I had a conversation with someone else about how much liability insurance he would have needed to cover this kind of an accident. I was thinking in the neighborhood of $200-$400 million at least. The insurance company needs to start paying victims for injuries and property owners (including the school district) to repair what was lost.

[KamaAina]

18. So when was the last time he had the plant inspected?

[niyad]

25. 2005 is what I read this morning

[KatyMan]

33. 2011 nt

at least, that is what I read this morning.

[forestpath]

19. I consider him a murderer.

[MotherPetrie]

22. Ditto. He's only sorry because now he's facing lawsuit city. He doesn't give a shit about anything

other than his bottom line.

[baldguy]

38. +1000

[sakabatou]

21. Hello, you didn't do the inspections!

[hatrack]

24. Maybe he and Bob Murray and Don Blankenship can all get together

Have a heart-broken limp-dick circle jerk while they count their money and shit on stacks of OSHA and EPA safety and environmental regulations.

[niyad]

26. of course it is--you ignored safety, you lied on your forms, there was no provision for any sort

of fire-no containment wall, nothing. you are one greedy, selfish, murdering bastard.

I am waiting for the chorus of "nobody could have known this plant might explode"

[proud patriot]

28. tell it to the devil Sir !

directed at the owner of the fertilizer plant (added in edit)

[Zoeisright]

29. Live in a cardboard box for the rest of your life, douchebag.

Hope you get sued until you don't have a fucking penny left.

[booley]

42. of course he would say that.

words are cheap.

neccessary safety standards apparently are not.

[Arugula Latte]

46. "It was all worth it, though, 'cuz I got gubmint off mah back for 30 years," he added...

[Hubert Flottz]

47. K&R

The Don Blankenship playbook!

[tarheelsunc]

49. I wonder how much insurance money he will get from this. eom

[Sunlei]

58. West even able to get insurance on that 'explosion waiting to happen' is why our rates are so high.

[Justice]

51. I hope he goes to jail

[Ilsa]

52. Gov. Ricky is probably giving Adair plenty of time

to move his money safely offshore where the plaintiffs won't be able to get to it.

[jsr]

55. His risk management plan said a “worst case” incident would be a 10-minute leak

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local/trade-association-sought-to-exclude-fertilizer-ble/nXRhZ/

... The company’s most recent risk management plan, filed in 2011, drastically underestimated a “worst case” incident at the plant, stating that it would be a 10-minute leak of anhydrous ammonia, not the catastrophic explosion that occurred Wednesday night, for which the death toll — reported to be at least 14 as of Friday evening — is still not finalized.

[Sunlei]

62. ok, even if that corp had insurance based on that plan they won't payout.

from what I googled they made about 50 million a year. He's going to have to giveup his bank.

[Sunlei]

59. The plant was on fire for an HOUR!! Donald Adair YOU KNEW what was in your building!!