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Fertilizer plant explosion in West, Tx.


 
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#1 Shortpoet-GTD

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Posted 18 April 2013 - 05:55 AM

Of all the damage to our environment that fertilizer's do; this is the worst.
Many people died and more injured.

(Hashtag on Twitter is #PrayForTexas)

"Due to the plant's chemical stockpile, "they realized the seriousness of what they had."
http://www.huffingto...=green&ir=Green

#2 Besoeker

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Posted 18 April 2013 - 01:24 PM

Dreadful, I agree.
If I could rewind the clock and implement a better outcome, I would.
It is feared that there might be as many as 15 fatalities.

But I sometimes wonder about context. The explosion in the plant has made international news. Rightly so.
As did Bhopal. Several thousand fatalities at least.

Accidents. Piper Alpha, Aberfan. Accidents. Human failings. We all have them but, thankfully, for the most part, without such tragic outcomes.

But sometimes I think we get things a bit ou of proportion. Maybe we buy into media hype.
Fukushima is an example. The coverage persisted about the nuclear reactor plant. Not one fatalitity there. The estimated 20,000 fatalities resulting from the tsunami fell out of being newsworthy in a day or two. The nuclear plant story remained long after. That was the story. Presumably because it sold.

I have much the same feeling about this explosion. Nobody would wish the death and injury of those who suffered. We rightfully feel saddened by the events.

Where am I going with this?
Maybe a bit of context or proportion.

An accident resulting in fifteen fatalities and many injured is tragic, newsworthy and get aired.It's an incident.

Yet, on average, there are about ninety fatalities a day, every day, in USA as a result of road traffic accidents.
But that mostly goes under the radar.

#3 Shortpoet-GTD

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Posted 18 April 2013 - 03:38 PM

The point is the fertilizer.
We use it.
Big ag uses it to grow the corn (among other things) on factory farms.
It gets fed to cows, pig, chickens-put into thousands of products.
High fructose corn syrup ring a bell?
We use it.

We are responsible.

#4 still learning

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Posted 18 April 2013 - 04:12 PM

Ammonium nitrate explosions certainly aren't anything new.

Over 500 deaths in the 1946 Texas City explosions.  http://en.wikipedia....Germany.2C_1921

The stuff is used mainly as a fertilizer.
Most folks won't be as alarmed about a nearby fertilizer factory as they would be about a nearby explosives factory.

#5 Besoeker

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Posted 19 April 2013 - 01:01 AM

View PostShortpoet-GTD, on 18 April 2013 - 03:38 PM, said:

The point is the fertilizer.
We use it.
We use cars too...

#6 Besoeker

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Posted 20 April 2013 - 09:52 AM

View Poststill learning, on 18 April 2013 - 04:12 PM, said:


Most folks won't be as alarmed about a nearby fertilizer factory as they would be about a nearby explosives factory.
Or maybe a nearby nuclear power plant?
Without actually knowing the facts.

#7 Phil

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Posted 22 April 2013 - 03:39 PM

There are tragedies all over the world every day.  Needless deaths by the thousand.  If we covered every one all networks would air disasters 24/7 and not be redundant.  Fifteen deaths for a single tragedy is high for the US so I guess it makes sense to cover it, it's a blip on the radar in the grand scheme of things.

The reason we can feed so many for such a low cost is factory farms and fertilizer.  It's a shame but it's a fact.  If everyone only bought organic, that would end it, however many could not afford it and quantities would be reduced causing even higher prices.  

As usual, it all comes down to overpopulation.  If factory farms are draining the aquifers as much as reported, the problem will sort itself out before the end of the century regardless.

#8 Shortpoet-GTD

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Posted 22 April 2013 - 03:44 PM

Disregarding safety rules had a lot to do with it too. Owners think that safety cost too much; or that it's
the feds telling them what to do.

"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."
Article

#9 Shortpoet-GTD

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Posted 27 April 2013 - 04:27 AM

The storage of 1,300 times the amount of ammonium nitrate that would normally trigger safety oversight, went
unreported, in part, because of dick chaney (and friends/relatives of his) and the laws he sneaked into bills while in office.

"The bush administration was not going to support granting regulatory authority over chemical security to the EPA."

The DHS was not given the tools to regulate these plants.
Via HP

Original broadcast on MSNBC from Chris Hayes

#10 Besoeker

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Posted 28 April 2013 - 02:58 AM

View PostPhil, on 22 April 2013 - 03:39 PM, said:

There are tragedies all over the world every day.  Needless deaths by the thousand.  If we covered every one all networks would air disasters 24/7 and not be redundant.  Fifteen deaths for a single tragedy is high for the US so I guess it makes sense to cover it, it's a blip on the radar in the grand scheme of things.
Well yes, I suppose it is,

This

story got a lot of coverage here over the past few days.

Quote

With the death toll standing at 352, a military spokesman, Shahinul Islam, said 2,419 survivors were accounted for.


A saying I've heard more than once:

"One death is a tragedy, 100,000 is a statistic."

#11 still learning

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Posted 26 May 2013 - 02:38 PM

No definite cause established by the investigation.  Possible electrical system failure or defective golf cart or criminal act.   http://www.feedandgr...nconclusively   http://www.dallasnew...safety-gaps.ece

#12 Shortpoet-GTD

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Posted 27 May 2013 - 03:49 AM

A million dollar investigation?
Does everyone working for the government make $600 an hour or what? That's ridiculous.

Thanks for that follow up on the story.

#13 still learning

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Posted 29 May 2013 - 02:38 AM

View Poststill learning, on 26 May 2013 - 02:38 PM, said:

......No definite cause established by the investigation.  Possible electrical system failure or defective golf cart or criminal act.....

No definite cause for the fire.

The explosion, while initiated by the fire, wouldn't have happened if the ammonium nitrate hadn't been there, maybe wouldn't have happened if there it was but properly stored.  
Wouldn't have been so much loss of life if the firemen had had knowledge of the improperly stored ammonium nitrate.  

#14 Shortpoet-GTD

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Posted 29 May 2013 - 04:28 AM

View Poststill learning, on 29 May 2013 - 02:38 AM, said:

Wouldn't have been so much loss of life if the firemen had had knowledge of the improperly stored ammonium nitrate.  

That's the thing.
Will the owners face criminal charges over lack of disclosure, which caused their deaths?

#15 Shortpoet-GTD

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Posted 01 August 2013 - 06:08 AM

Update-
Obama issued an executive order to federal agencies to review safety regulations at chemical facilities.

Why do we always have to wait til after an event to coordinate and share information between agencies?
We had the same problem on 9/11. Firefighters couldn't communicate with the police.

EPA and OSHA were not on the same page- OSHA inspectors hadn't checked out that plant in West, Texas
since 1985. What?
Article

#16 Shortpoet-GTD

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Posted 10 October 2013 - 02:22 PM

Update article on that plant in Texas that exploded; killing 15 people.
The fines will cost them over $100,000. That's a bit over $6 grand a person. Sickening.
Numerous safety violations may (yeah right) have led to the explosion.
Source

#17 Shortpoet-GTD

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Posted 11 May 2016 - 02:37 PM

On tonight's news after years of investigations; they're reporting it was deliberately set. Sick, sick person (s)


http://www.kmbc.com/...ounced/39483806

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