Huge Explosion At Texas Fertilizer Plant

I live just outside of Waco, TX and have been a volunteer firefighter in the past. So many people can't understand why the first responders would have put themselves into such a dangerous position and run toward danger and not away from it but I can tell you from experience that you don't think about it. When you get the "page" or phone call, the only thing on your mind is protecting those in danger. I'm sure the West firefighters didn't expect the explosion to occur and they were trying to keep that possibility from happening. The outpouring of help and donations has been tremendous from all over the state. West lost 5 firefighters, 4 EMS personnel, 5 more victims, 2 out of 3 fire trucks and both of their ambulances. So far they have not relied on governmental help due to the non-governmental groups and organizations being first on the ground to help. More than 200 citizens were injured out of a population of around 2,800. Three out of four of the schools were damaged or destroyed but classes will resume on Monday morning thanks to the generosity of other school districts donating the use of empty buildings or sending portable classrooms. No need for government help. You see, these are the religious, conservative, hard working small town citizens that prefer help from their neighbors and friends instead of the government. This would not be the kind of town that Chilcoot would be comfortable in. About 50 homes were either leveled or inhabitable at the moment. As for the zoning question, I don't know anything about that but the fertilizer plant is actually located in the county, not the city limits. The town expanded towards the plant since it was built in 1962.

Now, can we just have a little compassion for the residents of West, TX as they start to recover and rebuild?? Thank you.

You mean after the disaster, or right before the disaster? I'm glad no one I care about was any where near that horrible tragedy. Not wanting to live in Hiroshima when the bomb went off does not make you a bad person. It just makes you a sane person.

This is a terrible tragedy and I hope America learns some important lessons from this disaster. Dangerous industrial facilities should not be next to old folks homes.

I get it, you guys hate Chilcoot, forkushV, and Obama, but please don't let the hate override the obvious truth. This type of disaster can be avoided in the future, less hate, more rational thinking, it will work.


Flame away.

Yeah, Texans were opposed to government aid before they were for it. Texas Governor Rick Perry, who balanced two budgets with federal stimulus funds, just asked President Obama for aid. Congressman Flores, who represents the afflicted area, wants aid even though he opposed it for Hurricane Sandy victims. Ditto most Texas congressmen and all Texas senators.

They wanted Hurricane Sandy victims to go without, this in spite of the fact that Texas has received FEMA aid more than any other state in history. And one of the reasons Texas needs all that FEMA help is that they refuse to pay firemen with all that money they pump out of the ground, so they rely on volunteers - and the federal government!

Are all the "religious, conservative, hard working" folks in Texas such ingrates? And so sanctimonious? And while we're at it, can we please have our federal oil subsidy dollars back?

"How the heck could someone think that locating a large-scale fertilizer plant so close to residences and a nursing home was acceptable?"

The NJ Turnpike has a large number of chemical plants, a power plant & fuel tanks alongside it and they are located in the middle of a large urban area. These plants are also on a direct line to the Newark airport runways a few miles away.

I am sure this scenario is repeated in numerous areas arounf the country

I believe hoops describes the real problem that exists today. In most cases we’re dealing with legacy issues involving industrial facilities that were built beyond the outskirts of town, following which the town grew to the plant’s boundaries 40 or 50 or more years ago. And it happened in full compliance with the laws and zoning restrictions that were effect at the time. I’ve never seen a definitive study, so I admit I’m guessing, but I’d say there are thousands of situations like that today. They exist from coast to coast, in both “red” states and “blue” states.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but some possible solutions I’ve seen pursued in my experience in chemical/petrochemical manufacturing include the following:

Shut down the plant.

Institute a mandatory buyout of the surrounding residences/small businesses to create a buffer zone around the plant.

Institute a voluntary buyout in which residents/small businesses are fully and continually appraised of the risks involved, and allowed to make their own decisions about whether or not to accept buyout, while constantly upgrading the plant to incorporate the latest in safe manufacturing, risk reduction, and emergency response technologies.

As you can probably imagine, there are major questions, concerns, and issues associated with each of the above solutions. Speaking from experience, none of them completely satisfy everyone, and each situation is unique, but the “best” solutions seem to evolve from open and honest communications among all concerned parties (company, workers, community, government, and regulatory agencies).

I personally have no patience or sympathy for those who may knowingly allow dangerous conditions to exist or persist, but when an unfortunate incident does occur, I also have no patience or sympathy for those who may try to capitalize upon it to push an agenda.


[Edit: Stepping down from soapbox now.]

Good post, Jim.

The situation in New Jersey is comparable to West Texas? Let's see.

clcjim, can you name one plant in NJ that has a school right next to a fertilizer plant holding 100 times the ammonium nitrate as was used by Timothy McVeigh? Can you name a plant in New Jersey that unannounced, starts a fire burning pallets that causes smoke so bad, the elementary school has to be evacuated. How about a plant in NJ where potential first responders are not told exactly which chemicals are being stored? And clcjim, can you name one chemical plant in New Jersey that does all of the above with no sprinklers or fire barriers?

Can you name one, clcmim?

The "real problem" is a criminal disregard for the safety of Texas workers and Texas citizens - because freedom, or something like that. And unsurprisingly, a worker in Texas is three times as likely to be killed on the job as a worker in New Jersey - even with all their chemical plants. Because when so many of the previously cited "conservative, religious, hard working" folks in Texas talk about being "pro-life," they're apparently referring to zygotes, and not actual living breathing human beings.

Forky

To answer your question it is called Bayonne and Newark

Interesting that you should make so many unsourced claims – the very thing for which you criticized someone on these boards just a few days ago.

Regarding this incident, I mourn for the victims and their families, and I’d like to know more about the adequacy of the training given to the first responders. No, I’m not surprised that a fertilizer plant might have been storing a lot of fertilizer. And yes, I’m disappointed that the facility was in such close proximity to schools, residences, and a nursing home, and I want to know more about how that happened.

While I may have my own opinions about whether or not what happened here is the result of problems unique to Texas, I want a full investigation to be conducted to truly answer that and other pertinent questions. I believe that’s what you do if you’re sincerely interested in solving problems. Until then, I’ll resist jumping to conclusions or pointing fingers.

Like Chilcoot, you seem to feel that you already know all the answers here. And, like Chilcoot’s original post in this thread, your last few posts seem especially bitter. You and he leave the unmistakable impression that you REALLY hate Texas and Texans. I can’t image why. It’s almost as if Texas stands in the way of some dream you have about fundamentally transforming America. Or something.

Anyway, I don’t see much point in discussing this further with you. I’m not going to change your mind, and you’re not going to change mine. Fortunately, since you and Chilcoot are pretty well known here, I don’t think you’re going to change anyone else’s either. So there’s that.

In the meantime, you can continue to remind the rest of us how smart you are, lest we forget. Have a nice night.

I don't know if the forkster lives in Texas, but he nailed the "real problem." We Texans are so proud of our business- friendly state and so distrustful of gummint intervention that we refuse to seriously regulate worker safety, along with other pesky little things like the quality of our air and groundwater. While our brilliant governor (former and future comical Republican presidential hopeful Rick Perry) travels across the country attempting to sucker businesses into moving to our fair state, we remain near the bottom of the country in educating our future work force, and at the very bottom in percentage of citizens with health insurance. yee- haw!!!