![]() A week after the explosion, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told Senate investigators that the company did not appear to have disclosed its ammonium nitrate stock to her department. ![]() Īccording to its last filing with the EPA in late 2012, the company stated that it stored 540,000 pounds (270 short tons 240 t) of ammonium nitrate and 110,000 pounds (55 short tons 50 t) of anhydrous ammonia on the site. Indeed, the tanks were still intact following the nearby fire and explosion. In an emergency planning report filed with the EPA in 2011, company officials said the anhydrous ammonia storage tanks did not represent a significant fire or explosion hazard. It installed a surveillance system in 2009 after law enforcement recommended they do so. The facility lacked burglar alarms, or even a fenced perimeter. Īccording to an open records request by Reuters, the plant had a long history of minor thefts, presumably by people wanting to use anhydrous ammonia to make methamphetamine. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration further fined the facility $5,250 for violations regarding anhydrous ammonia storage. Also in 2006, the EPA fined the owners $2,300 for problems that included not filing a risk management program plan on time. A permit was issued once the operators brought the facility into accord with agency regulations and recommendations. Map of West, TexasĪfter a complaint in 2006 about an ammonia smell coming from the facility, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality investigated and cited the operator for not having a permit for two storage tanks that contained anhydrous ammonia. OSHA officials said the facility was not on their "National Emphasis Plan" for chemical plant inspections, because it was considered to be an exempt "retail facility" under an interpretation of OSHA's Process Safety Management standard, the plant had no record of a major accident, and the Environmental Protection Agency did not consider it a major risk. OSHA also cited the plant for violations of respiratory protection standards, but did not impose a fine. OSHA could have fined the company as much as $1,000. According to records obtained by the Associated Press, OSHA cited the plant for improper storage of anhydrous ammonia and fined it $30. Īt the time of the incident, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) had last inspected the plant in 1985. is wholly owned by Donald Adair and his wife Wanda. and employed nine workers at the facility. As of 2013 it was owned by Adair Grain, Inc. West Fertilizer Company had supplied chemicals to farmers since it was founded in 1962. On May 11, 2016, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives stated that the fire had been deliberately set. Investigators confirmed that ammonium nitrate was the material that exploded. Fifteen people were killed, more than 160 were injured, and more than 150 buildings were damaged or destroyed. ![]() On April 17, 2013, an ammonium nitrate explosion occurred at the West Fertilizer Company storage and distribution facility in West, Texas, United States (18 miles (29 km) north of Waco), while emergency services personnel were responding to a fire at the facility. ![]() West Fertilizer Company building obliterated, 60–80 homes destroyed, 50–75 homes damaged, 50-unit apartment building destroyed, West Middle School damaged, West Volunteer Ambulance Station and Nursing home.
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