BREAKING: 12 dead, 35 missing, about 200 injured in Texas West fertilizer plant explosion [View all]

[dixiegrrrrl]

12:00 GMT: The bodies of 12 people have been recovered as a result of search operations West fertilizer plant. Authorities have confirmed that about 200 other people injured. Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Jason Reyes said search and rescue operations are ongoing as authorities had searched and cleared 150 buildings by Friday morning and still had another 25 to examine.


Jeffrey Patterson, a professor at the Wisconsin University School of Medicine and Public Health, doubted the claim, during a conversation with RT, from some officials that the danger was over following the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas Monday.

“The ammonia is still in the air and if this is breathed in or gets in your eyes it could cause skin burns. This could go on for days,” he said. “Chemicals may get into the groundwater.”

Patterson compared Wednesday’s blast to similar disasters at Chernobyl and the Fukushima nuclear meltdown. And while it’s impossible to adequately prepare emergency crews for an accident of such magnitude there are ways to prevent them in the future. The professor also questioned Texas Governor Rick Perry’s hands-off attitude when it comes to situations such as these.

“Many people are going to die and many are going to be injured permanently. You can do all the preparation you want but it really does not prevent the problem,” Patterson said. “We have a saying, ‘There is no cure, only prevention.’ [Perry] may have the best prepared emergency agencies but, in terms of regulatory agencies, perhaps not so well.”

http://rt.com/usa/explosion-texas-fertilizer-plant-038/