West explosion shows self-policing fails (from Dallas News)

http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/20130616-editorial-west-explosion-shows-self-policing-fails.ece



Plumes of smoke from a burning chemical plant fill the sky as emergency workers form a roadblock west of Bryan, Texas on Thursday, July 30, 2009. Officials evacuated much of Brazos County to the north and west of Bryan because the El Dorado Chemical Co. plant contained explosive ammonium nitrate.

published: 16 June 2013 11:07 PM

Updated: 16 June 2013 11:07 PM
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Sometimes, a voluntary best-practices approach to industry self-regulation works best to raise standards and minimize government intrusion. But when some operators choose to ignore voluntary standards, disaster can result. When it happens again and again, that’s when state and federal lawmakers should step in. The April 17 explosion in West is an excellent example of how badly things can go wrong when industry self-policing fails. West Fertilizer Co. was among dozens of facilities around Texas storing thousands of pounds of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, a compound that becomes explosive at high temperatures. West Fertilizer didn’t follow industry best practices by keeping its ammonium nitrate away from combustible materials, such as wooden storage facilities.

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Investigators in West aren’t sure what caused the April 17 fire and explosion, which killed 15 people and damaged hundreds of structures. Experts say the burning wood structure may have collapsed on top of about 30 tons of ammonium nitrate, prompting the explosion. Seeds were stored in the same building, along with an old golf cart.

West Fertilizer’s owners did not heed the warning signs from the Bryan fire, and officials in West, surrounding McLennan County and state regulatory agencies also appear not to have recognized the dangers. Today, because of West, towns across the state are conducting reviews that should have happened long ago. West Fertilizer and El Dorado are far from alone in wagering that a few dollars saved now outweighs the risk of a big fire and even bigger explosion sometime in the future.

When industry self-policing fails repeatedly, lawmakers must take action and recognize the higher priority of protecting the public. If companies insist on using wooden warehouses, state law should severely limit how much ammonium nitrate they can store inside. Interim legislative committees should begin studying National Fire Protection Association standards for the safe handling and storage of ammonium nitrate, then turn the most important voluntary standards into mandatory ones. When private companies gamble with the lives and property of surrounding residents to reduce their own costs, they deserve to lose their self-policing privileges.

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