Texas explosion: Plant 'ignored safety rules' [View all]

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Failure to report significant volumes of hazardous chemicals at a site can lead the DHS to fine or shut down fertiliser operations. Though the DHS has the authority to carry out spot inspections at facilities, it has a small budget for that activity and only a "small number" of field auditors, according to someone familiar with the agency's monitoring regime.




Firms are responsible for reporting their volumes of ammonium nitrate and other volatile chemicals to the DHS, which then helps to measure plant risks and devise security plans based on them. Since the agency never received a so-called top-screen report from West Fertilizer, the facility was not regulated or monitored by the DHS under its CFAT standards, which are largely designed to prevent sabotage of sites and to keep chemicals from falling into criminal hands.



The DHS focuses "specifically on enhancing security to reduce the risk of terrorism at certain high-risk chemical facilities", said a spokesman, Peter Boogaard. "The West Fertilizer Co facility in West, Texas is not currently regulated under the CFATS programme."



The West Fertilizer facility was subject to other safety programmes, spread across at least seven state and federal agencies, a patchwork of regulation that critics say makes it difficult to ensure thorough oversight. An expert in chemical safety standards said the two major federal government programmes that are supposed to ensure chemical safety in industry – led by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) – do not regulate the handling or storage of ammonium nitrate. That task falls largely to the DHS and the local and state agencies that oversee emergency planning and response. More than 4,000 sites nationwide are subject to the DHS programme.
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http://www.independent.ie/world-news/americas/texas-explosion-plant-ignored-safety-rules-29211063.html