Federal safety board backed beefed-up rules for chemicals like ammonium nitrate in 2002
By Asher Price - American-Statesman Staff
More than a decade before roughly 30 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded at the West Fertilizer Co. plant, killing 14, wounding 200 and damaging dozens of homes in the city of West, an obscure federal agency recommended the government pay more attention to managing potentially explosive chemicals like ammonium nitrate.
But the recommendations never fully took hold. Had they been adopted, company officials at West might have been required to publicly report the worst case explosive scenario, and the safety measures they would take to avert it.
Instead of a devastating explosion, West Fertilizer’s worst-case scenario, described in government-mandated reports, was a gas leak of anhydrous ammonia, a common liquid fertilizer that is regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/local/chemical-safety-board-had-recommended-beefed-up-re/nX3QL/
from the comments
AltaKocker
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EPA could go, & can go, to court at any time to get TROs to force entities to move very dangerous ammonium nitrate storage facilities away from where folks live, go to school, etc., using CERCLA, CAA, etc. Imminent & Substantial Endangerment authorities.
Sadly the Chemical Safety Board can only make recommendations.
P.S. The Koch Brothers are one of the largest owners of fertilizer companies.
You really don't think the Bush EPA was gonna make any regulatory changes that could force the Koch Brothers to spend millions of $, just to protect the lives of thousands of us peasants, do you?
