West Fertilizer
lborkowski | October 10, 2013Over the course of three days, three miners were killed on the job in West Virginia, Illinois, and Wyoming. Ken Ward Jr. describes their deaths in the Charleston Gazette:
In the recent incidents, 62-year-old Roger R. King of Moundsville was killed Friday when he was hit in the head by part of a chain being used during a longwall machine move at CONSOL Energy's McElroy Mine in Marshall County.
On Saturday, a miner at Alliance Coal's Pattiki Mine in White County, Ill., was killed when an underground cart rolled over and he was pinned underneath it. Local media identified the miner as Robert…
cmonforton | May 23, 2013When they toured the devastation caused by the April 17 explosion at West Fertilizer, Texas' U.S. Senators pledged that investigators would get to the bottom of what happened. The disaster killed 15, injured hundreds of residents, and destroyed dozens of homes and buildings. Senator Ted Cruz said:
"We need to allow time for a careful investigation of what occurred. We all want to know what happened here."
Senator John Cornyn said:
"I'm confident there will be exactly the kind of review you're talking about on the local level, state level and the federal level. We have authorities from all…
cmonforton | May 1, 2013Steve McGraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), told members of the Texas legislature that responsibility for informing residents about the chemical hazards in their communities----such as at the fertilizer plant in West, Texas----falls to local officials. The Dallas Morning-News' Brandon Formby reports from the first public hearing to examine the circumstances that led to the catastrophic April 17 explosion. The inquiry was held by the Texas Legislature's House Committee on Homeland Security & Public Safety.
“It’s a local up,” DPS Director Steve McCraw said…
cmonforton | April 23, 2013The funeral services are beginning this week for the 10 volunteer firefighters and the five other individuals who were fatally injured by the horrific explosion at West Fertilizer. The initial call about the fire at the plant was made to the West Volunteer fire department at 8:30 pm. The explosion occurred 21 minutes later. The Dallas Morning News is reporting that the firefighters knew the plant stored chemicals used in explosives, "but whether that knowledge factored into the attempts to put out the fatal blaze near the plant remained unclear." The Texas State Fire Marshall's Office…