Texas Plant Explosion Reveals Wide Gaps In Workplace Safety Laws

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WASHINGTON -- The staggering death toll continues to rise -- not in Boston, but in the small town of West, Texas.

Buried by the extraordinary developments in the marathon bombing case, the confirmed deaths of at least 14 people and the injuries of 200 more have been all but lost in the breaking terrorism news. But about 1,800 miles from Boston, rescuers and investigators are sorting through the wreckage of the devastating industrial disaster.

Officials still can't say definitively what led to the explosion at the West Fertilizer Company facility on Wednesday, which destroyed nearby neighborhoods, at least three rescue trucks and one firetruck. Occupational health experts, however, are pointing to at least one contributing factor: the inadequacy of U.S. workplace safety laws and their enforcement.

"The nation's number one resource is its workers," said Keith Wrightson, safety expert at Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group. "But the agency that's charged with protecting them is not given the resources to do it. I think it's worrisome for the nation."
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Ops "I will shut down EPA, DEA....Ops"

[NoPasaran]

1. As this disaster shows, workplace safety protects more than the workers

As devastating as the loss of life, injuries and property damage were, imagine what would have happened if the fire and explosion had taken place a few hours earlier, when the nearby schools were full of children.

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2. Very good point

Thanks