Because, apparently, this is the way that inspections are handled these days:
(via WSJ)
Fertilizer Firm Cited Minimal Risks in Regulatory Filings
The operators of the Texas fertilizer plant where at least five people died in a blast Wednesday told government regulators there wasn’t a major risk of a fire or explosion from ammonia stored at the plant.
West Fertilizer Co. told the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2011
that it was storing up to 54,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia at the plant, north
of Waco, as part of a required “risk-management plan.” The plan said that
neither fire nor explosion has been identified as a significant hazard,
according to a summary of the plan on the website of the Center for Effective
Government, a nonprofit group that posts the EPA data.
So, if you have a business that involves handling lots of dangerous chemicals, the EPA asks YOU to send them a plan in which you say "oh, there's no chance of explosion here! No sir, everything's just as safe as safe can be, no need to come look at anything!"
In the risk-management plan, West Fertilizer said the worst-case scenario would be an ammonia leak from a storage tank or hose. It didn't specify the likely consequences. The company said the plant had no alarms, automatic shutoff system, firewall or sprinkler system.
No alarms, no sprinklers, no firewall. How is it that they were allowed to operate? Well, for one thing, they hadn't had an inspection in over FIVE YEARS! In fact, according to Think Progress:
The plant hasn’t been inspected in the past five years, and in fact only six Texas fertilizer plants were inspected in that time. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is chronically understaffed, which means that a given plant like West Fertilizer can only expect to get a state inspection once every 67 years on average.
This explosion was the inevitable result of 30+years of anti-government propaganda, of budget cuts, of conservative talking points about "burdensome regulations" and "keeping government off our backs." This was bound to happen, just like the tainted peanut butter from that plant in Georgia a few years ago. This is what happens when businesses are left to their own devices, allowed to "self-regulate." Businesses will always cut corners to maximize profits, and safety equipment is one of those costly corners that are easy to cut if no one is watching. And no one is watching, thanks to the Grover Norquists, Howard Jarvises and Ronald Reagans of the world.
Just as the gun manufacturers would rather see a few kids get slaughtered now and again than potentially lose a few sales, the modern conservative would rather see people-killing explosions than "job-killing regulations." So this is what we get.
So, if you have a business that involves handling lots of dangerous chemicals, the EPA asks YOU to send them a plan in which you say "oh, there's no chance of explosion here! No sir, everything's just as safe as safe can be, no need to come look at anything!"
In the risk-management plan, West Fertilizer said the worst-case scenario would be an ammonia leak from a storage tank or hose. It didn't specify the likely consequences. The company said the plant had no alarms, automatic shutoff system, firewall or sprinkler system.
No alarms, no sprinklers, no firewall. How is it that they were allowed to operate? Well, for one thing, they hadn't had an inspection in over FIVE YEARS! In fact, according to Think Progress:
The plant hasn’t been inspected in the past five years, and in fact only six Texas fertilizer plants were inspected in that time. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is chronically understaffed, which means that a given plant like West Fertilizer can only expect to get a state inspection once every 67 years on average.
This explosion was the inevitable result of 30+years of anti-government propaganda, of budget cuts, of conservative talking points about "burdensome regulations" and "keeping government off our backs." This was bound to happen, just like the tainted peanut butter from that plant in Georgia a few years ago. This is what happens when businesses are left to their own devices, allowed to "self-regulate." Businesses will always cut corners to maximize profits, and safety equipment is one of those costly corners that are easy to cut if no one is watching. And no one is watching, thanks to the Grover Norquists, Howard Jarvises and Ronald Reagans of the world.
Just as the gun manufacturers would rather see a few kids get slaughtered now and again than potentially lose a few sales, the modern conservative would rather see people-killing explosions than "job-killing regulations." So this is what we get.
