Aftermath of the West, Texas, fertilizer plant explosion that killed 15 and injured 300 in April 2013.
The Obama administration issued an
executive order Thursday dedicated to modernizing the nation's health and safety regulations covering chemical facilities and enhancing cooperation on such matters among federal, state and tribal governments. The order notes:
“Chemicals, and the facilities where they are manufactured, stored, distributed, and used, are essential to today’s economy. Past and recent tragedies have reminded us, however, that the handling and storage of chemicals are not without risk.”
The order comes three months after an April 17 fire and explosion of ammonium nitrate facility in West, Texas, killed 15 people and injured at least 300. A congressional committee held a
hearing on the blast Thursday:
“This is a step in the right direction,” Representative Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican and chairman of the Homeland Security committee, said at a hearing after the White House announcement. “The West facility was a disaster waiting to happen, but as dangerous as West was, the Department of Homeland Security had no knowledge of it.”
United Steelworkers International President (and Kossack) Leo Gerard
stated in a press release:
"The [850,000-member] USW applauds President Obama for taking bold action to protect working men and women and communities across the country from hazardous chemical releases and explosions. The formation of a new Chemical Facility Safety and Security Working Group, which will coordinate efforts by Federal, State and Local officials, will streamline the regulatory process that all Americans depend on for safety and security—both on the job and where we live."
The executive order mandates a working group made up of officials from relevant federal agencies to find ways for state authorities and first responders to ensure that manufacturers follow safe and secure ways of making and storing hazardous chemicals. It also calls for better coordination, cooperation and communication among officials at the various levels of government. And for making sure that emergency responders and others are adequately trained to handle dangerous chemicals.
A big problem revealed by the West disaster is just how ineffective the tangle of competing regulations among local, state, federal and tribal governments is. It's easy to point fingers when something goes wrong because nobody is really in charge.
Some rules already mandated have not been put into effect. As Bloomberg noted, five years after Congress required tracking of ammonium nitrate, the Department of Homeland Security has not issued rules yet. DHS approval of site plans "is so far behind schedule it could take seven to nine years to approve the 3,120 plans in the queue, according to a General Accountability Office report today."