Feds: West Fertilizer fire was an act of arson

ATF offers $50,000 reward

May 12, 2016

In a startling development, federal investigators have determined that the deadly and destructive 2013 fertilizer plant blast in West, Texas was no accident.

Chemical Safety Board wraps up investigation into 2013 West Fertilizer blast

Recommends changes in hazard awareness, land use planning and regulatory oversight

February 1, 2016

The US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) last week voted on its final report and safety recommendations on the April 17, 2013, West Fertilizer fire and explosion in West, Texas, which resulted in 15 fatalities, more than 260 injuries, and widespread community damage.

CSB: West, TX explosion was preventable

Investigation found lack of regulation at all levels of government

April 23, 2014

The lessons learned from the deadly 2013 West, Texas explosion and fire are not being passed along to emergency responders in other communities with facilities that store ammonium nitrate (AN), according to the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB).

OSHA joins forces with fertilizer industry to spread word about chemical safety

February 11, 2014

With the devastating April 2013 explosion in West, Texas still fresh in the minds of Americans, OSHA is hoping that a just-initiated partnership with the Agricultural Retailers Association and The Fertilizer Institute will help prevent future tragedies involving ammonium nitrate – the culprit in the West, Texas catastrophe.

EPA, OSHA and ATF issue ammonium nitrate advisory

Aimed at facility owners, emergency planners, first responders

September 3, 2013

The EPA, OSHA and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) issued a chemical advisory that provides information on the hazards of ammonium nitrate (AN) storage, handling and management.

EPA’s failure in West, Texas explosion is “outrageous,” says Senator

Despite urging, agency didn’t add ammonium nitrate to its oversight list

July 10, 2013

The chair of the Senate committee that investigated the West, Texas fertilizer plant explosion yesterday slammed the EPA for failing to include ammonium nitrate – the substance which caused the fatal blast – in its list of hazardous chemicals that require oversight.

CSB, other agencies no closer to finding cause of TX plant explosion

Blast blew debris 2 ½ miles

May 17, 2013

Nearly a month after the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas that killed 14 people and injured another 200, investigators are still unable to determine the cause of the tragedy.

Officials now know what exploded at Texas fertilizer plant – but not why

Ammonium nitrate named as substance that blew up

May 7, 2013

Sources say an investigation into the fatal April 17 blast at a West, Texas fertilizer plant has already yielded some information, though it’s expected to continue beyond this week. The Texas State Fire Marshal’s Office has identified ammonium nitrate – a relatively inexpensive fertilizer with a high nitrogen content – as the substance that caused the explosion, killing 14 people and injuring approximately 200 more.

Senate panel will investigate fertilizer plant explosion

-One of many inquiries into the tragedy

May 3, 2013

U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer said this week that the Environment and Public Works Committee she chairs will investigate the devastating West, Texas fertilizer plant explosion that killed 14 people – many of them first responders – on April 18^th.

Always in the forefront of our minds is keeping the workplace safe and protecting employees. Learn how to establish steps that you can take to reduce worker exposure during a pandemic.

ISHN Magazine

2020 May

Among the articles in the May 2020 issue of ISHN Magazine, we talk to some EHS experts on the state of the safety industry amid the pandemic, detail the benefits of a Respiratory Protection Program, look at how portable gas monitor technology has evolved, and much more.

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