In preparation for its January 28th public meeting in Waco, Texas to discuss its findings on the 2013 West Fertilizer Company Fire and Explosion that killed 15 and injured another 260, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has released its final investigation report on the incident for public review. In the report, the CSB concludes that the construction of the bins and other building materials containing the fertilizer grade ammonium nitrate (FGAN), as well as the lack of an automatic sprinkler system "plausibly contributed to" the massive explosion. Moreover, the 265-page report details inherently safer approaches to FGAN use and storage that reduce the risk of a detonation like the one in West from ever happening again. What is particular concerning, however, is the CSB's findings that there are other FGAN storage facilities in close proximity to communities, raising concerns that an incident with offsite consequences of the same magnitude could potentially happen again. In fact, the CSB found that in Texas alone, there are 19 other facilities storing more than 10,000 pounds of FGAN located within 0.5 miles of a school, a hospital, or a nursing home.
To view the full investigation report, CLICK HERE.
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