Texas fertilizer blast

[Robinho]

Scary scenes coming out of Texas right now, near Waco, where a fertilizer plant has exploded, taking out a number of residential buildings nearby with "dozens" feared dead

Dozens feared killed and hundreds injured after fertiliser plant explodes near Waco, Texas | Perth Now (http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/world/explosion-at-fertiliser-plant-near-waco-texas/story-fnhrvhol-1226623333230)

BBC News - Texas fertiliser plant blast leaves scores injured (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22195495)

[BleAivano]

Wasn't there a similar accident at a similar plant in the USA in the 1990's?

*edit, I think it was the Pepcon disaster (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PEPCON_disaster) that I was thinking about.,

Also here is a video of the fire/explosion: http://edition.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_c1#/video/bestoftv/2013/04/18/pmt-texas-fertilizer-moment-of-explosion.cnn
Location of the plant: https://maps.google.se/maps?q=West+Fertilizer+Co,+1471+Jerry+Mashek+Drive ,+West,+Texas&ie=UTF8&ll=31.816022,-97.085516&spn=0.006026,0.014795&hq=West+Fertilizer+Co,+1471+Jerry+Mashek+Drive,+We st,&hnear=Texas,+Amerikas+f%C3%B6renta+stater&t=h&z=17

[Robinho]

Its also 66 years this week since a massive explosion in Texas from a ship carrying the same stuff

Sent from North Korea using the dark network

[airshifter]

The reports still seem to be all over the place. 5 to 15 dead according to most agencies reporting. What is really strange to me is the local damage... why wouldn't they isolate a place that has such fire/explosion risks involved?

[markabilly]

The reports still seem to be all over the place. 5 to 15 dead according to most agencies reporting. What is really strange to me is the local damage... why wouldn't they isolate a place that has such fire/explosion risks involved?

nobody thinks about such things until it is too late

[airshifter]

I'm not sure about that. Many large fireworks facilities and other such places use a lot of separate small buildings rather than larger buildings for that very reason.

[BleAivano]

perhaps the plant were isolated when it was built but that the town have grown around it.

[wedge]

perhaps the plant were isolated when it was built but that the town have grown around it.

If that's the case then what were they thinking building a school nearby?

[Starter]

If that's the case then what were they thinking building a school nearby?
People don't have the same respect for a fertilizer factory that they might have for, say, a fireworks factory. Same goes in our mid west for grain storage facilities which can blow up pretty well too, so "not think" is more appropriate.
.

[Gregor-y]

If that's the case then what were they thinking building a school nearby?
I'll guess it was because the land was cheap.

[D-Type]

I'm sure the appropriate risk assessments were carried out. But I suspect that they were treated as a 'tick the box' exercise rather than an assessment of a real risk. This will probably have been compounded by complacency on the part of thos who manage the plant.
It isn't a US thing - it happens the world over. People can't work out how best to handle the combination of an unlikely risk and serious potential consequences.

[markabilly]

I'm sure the appropriate risk assessments were carried out. But I suspect that they were treated as a 'tick the box' exercise rather than an assessment of a real risk. This will probably have been compounded by complacency on the part of thos who manage the plant.
It isn't a US thing - it happens the world over. People can't work out how best to handle the combination of an unlikely risk and serious potential consequences.
...
The probability of something like this seems extremely low so nobody thinks about it much, if they think about it at all.....

The company had been there for many years, and although cited for some issues over the years, it was not something that seemed to be worth worrying about it as nothing had ever happened.

So why not build a school---

BTW which was not close at all and seemed to anyone, to be more than a safe distance away until it went off---Just like the guy that took that video that is being shown the world over. He thought he and his son were more than a safe distance away, until it went off....

[Robinho]

Its difficult with that sort of risk. The likelihood of such an event is very low, and through appropriate controls can be lowered even further, making it seem safe. But the consequences of the unlikely event are massive, and the only controls you could have placed on minimising the consequences would have been isolating the plant. Clearly the likelihood was considered so low that the consequences of a catastrophic event such as this were not considered when planning buildings that fell within the resultant blast zone.

Sent from North Korea using the dark network

[Knock-on]

nobody thinks about such things until it is too late

I'm not sure this is the case.

This plant had been reprimanded previously for failures and had falsely stated that there were only a few KG of Amonia on site for it's risk management plan. There was in fact hundreds of tonnes of Ammonium Nitrate.

If the Risk Management Plan filed with the State showed a significant risk, then there would be the information availiable to detirmine the risk to surrounding buildings and population. There wasn't.

Crumbling infrastructure, poor maintainance and inadequate legislation and inspection are a far greater risk to America than a Thousand Bin Ladens but the US Government is obsessed with chasing bogeymen to appease it's people. The real danger to Homeland Security seems to sadly be the Americans.

I have great sympathy for those who have lost their lives but just like Gun massacres, these things will continue to happen until the US Citizens make change happen. However, that means more Tax and this goes fundementally against a large swathe of the population.

[markabilly]

Interesting article about the politicans...

Rick Perry, Greg Abbott and the politics of never letting a crisis go to waste | Trail Blazers Blog (http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2013/04/rick-perry-greg-abbott-and-the-politics-of-never-letting-a-crisis-go-to-waste.html/)

never let a crisis go to waste....meanwhile, they are still looking for the remains of perhaps 50 more people killed in the blast.

[ioan]

What is really strange to me is the local damage... why wouldn't they isolate a place that has such fire/explosion risks involved?

Looks like someone didn't do a proper job, either some Safety Agency, or some housing commission, or both, failed at their jobs.

[Starter]

Why does the title of this thread keep making me think it's a tweet from George the junior?