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Title: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Ghambit on April 17, 2013, 09:03:34 PM As if we needed more of this. Video says it all. Enormous explosion:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROrpKx3aIjA&feature=youtube_gdata_player Reports are part of the town is leveled and it's likely there were first responder fatalities. Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Samprimary on April 17, 2013, 10:45:44 PM April is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain. Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: rk47 on April 17, 2013, 11:40:03 PM It's an accident, right?
Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: schild on April 17, 2013, 11:43:38 PM Unless someone announces they did it, there's probably no way to find out, it was a 2.1 magnitude explosion.
Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Abagadro on April 17, 2013, 11:54:19 PM It's an accident, right? Most likely. Probably just a fire that hit either an ammonium nitrate or precursor chemical storage. Reminds me of the Pepcon fire/explosion (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOPP4ZBgnoA). Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Arthur_Parker on April 18, 2013, 12:04:04 AM Fertilizer is fucking scary stuff.
Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: calapine on April 18, 2013, 12:04:46 AM What horror. A similar explosion in Oppau in 1921 killed 561 people. Probably was bigger, but still. Firefighters were on site too. :sad:
Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Samprimary on April 18, 2013, 12:13:12 AM The plant was about 60 years old. Given how notoriously terrible Texas is about zoning and sensible regulation, that's more than plenty enough time for the free market to inspire developers to crawl right up on and around it via the whims of people who decide that lower land value created by proximity to literally fifty four thousand pounds of anhydrous ammonia and fertilizer and some grain elevators means "whoa hey with real estate so dirt cheap here we can build here with lower overhead!" Some of the things inspired by said market incentives were a nursing home, apartment complexes, playgrounds, and schools. Like you literally have a primary school and a nursing home within a block of a ginormous rack of explosive storage tanks and grain elevators. What. Oh well at least in other areas like oversight we have sensible regulatioNOPE (http://www.dallasnews.com/news/state/headlines/20130417-west-fertilizer-plant-said-in-report-that-it-presented-no-risk.ece) Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Samprimary on April 18, 2013, 12:15:29 AM Basically what my post outlines is that some people better damn well go to jail over this, even if a lot of other people who ultimately should go to jail for this won't.
Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Tale on April 18, 2013, 12:34:59 AM Basically what my post outlines is that some people better damn well go to jail over this, even if a lot of other people who ultimately should go to jail for this won't. It gets worse: West fertilizer plant said in report that it presented no risk (http://www.dallasnews.com/news/state/headlines/20130417-west-fertilizer-plant-said-in-report-that-it-presented-no-risk.ece) Quote The fertilizer plant that exploded Wednesday night in West, Texas, reported to the Environmental Protection Agency and local public safety officials that it presented no risk of fire or explosion, documents show. West Fertilizer Co. reported having as much as 54,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia on hand in an emergency planning report required of facilities that use toxic or hazardous chemicals. But the report, reviewed Wednesday night by The Dallas Morning News, stated “no” under fire or explosive risks. The worst possible scenario, the report said, would be a 10-minute release of ammonia gas that would kill or injure no one. Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Samprimary on April 18, 2013, 12:44:57 AM yeah, exactly. said link is at the end of my post.
from which at least some people will be going to jail. but the ones who built a nursing home next to a giant bomb won't. :/ Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Tale on April 18, 2013, 12:51:38 AM Oh sorry didn't see the link in the NOPE.
What horror. A similar explosion in Oppau in 1921 killed 561 people. Probably was bigger, but still. Firefighters were on site too. :sad: There was also the Texas City Disaster (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_City_Disaster), an ammonium nitrate fertiliser explosion that killed at least 581 people. That happened on April 16, 1947. You don't have much luck with mid-April. P.S. Just seen a commenter claim that this is "a false flag to take attention off the feds getting caught staging the Boston marathon blasts". There's bottomless stupid. Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Yoru on April 18, 2013, 01:58:20 AM And then there's the hick in the video linked in the original post, who apparently brought his kid to watch the fun fireworks.
What a douche. Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Samprimary on April 18, 2013, 02:20:30 AM He seemed to be a reasonable distance from that plant. Given that this was a plant that first responders were going towards, and that had been described as 'will not explode, nope, all good' to the town, and he was right by a middle school. I mean if it was that dangerous even that far away why would they build a freaking middle school next to
then, boom. Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Sir T on April 18, 2013, 03:47:15 AM The guy seemed to be around half a mile away. That's a very safe distance under normal circumstances and I would generally have no problems watching from that distance myself, and the authorities obviously had no problem with them being there. No-one could know that there was the equivalent of a nuke brewing in that place, certainly not the people that were there fighting the fire.
Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: calapine on April 18, 2013, 05:08:34 AM (http://images.4chan.org/pol/src/1366270199340.png)
The WTF is © some 4chan dude, but it's very appropriate. Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Chimpy on April 18, 2013, 05:30:20 AM But, but, the railroad tracks mean it is in a totally different universe. Nothing bad ever crosses the tracks don't you know?
Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Merusk on April 18, 2013, 05:47:37 AM Nobody with any brains at all sticks anything near a fertilizer plant. That said; Texas.
I was angry with the Dad but only because I was taught you don't do that shit. Ever. If you don't know, yeah, you're going to think it's cool and you're safe if you can't feel the heat or hear the flames. "Industrial area has a fire? Make sure you get a few miles away." - Merusk's Dad. He grew-up chasing fire trucks to watch fires and did it again when he got out of the Army. Then his job as a shot salesman took him in to management and began touring factories where shot was made. He discovered a whole world of leaky 50-gallon containers with hazard and explosive stickers that sit in warehouses for years with nobody paying them any mind. After all, they'd been there for years and nothing happened so it's all good! He stopped chasing fire trucks after that. Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Morat20 on April 18, 2013, 06:04:42 AM I live about that close to a large oil refinery. Eh, maybe a half mile or mile further out. I'm under no delusions what will happen if it blows up. Thankfully, most of the plant is unlikely to explode. Just catch on fire. The explosions would be quite smaller.
Fertilizer, on the other hand, explodes very well. Wasn't that used in the Oklahoma City Bombing? A fertilizer based bomb? The Texas City explosion in 47 was so big they found a ship's propeller (and by "ship" I mean "giant tanker" and by "propeller" I mean "15 foot blades") miles away. Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Merusk on April 18, 2013, 06:13:36 AM OKC was fertilizer, yes. That's why you have to fill out reams of forms for any amount over a bag. Farmers already had to do that prior to OKC, and after it got much, much worse. (McVeigh et. al bought it all with a farming license IIRC.)
Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Sky on April 18, 2013, 06:19:33 AM This is just a shitty attempt to glom onto the Boston story.
Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Arthur_Parker on April 18, 2013, 06:31:40 AM Fertilizer, on the other hand, explodes very well. Wasn't that used in the Oklahoma City Bombing? A fertilizer based bomb? Portadown center (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-oqxPrzke0) after a 1,000 lb Fertilizer bomb in 93. I didn't take the video but I was involved in the cleanup. Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Crumbs on April 18, 2013, 07:15:17 AM :tinfoil: Explosion at a fertilizer plant near Waco TX on the 20th anniversary week of the ATF/Koresh clusterdeath :tinfoil:
It's probably an accident but FFS. Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: ghost on April 18, 2013, 07:18:03 AM I've been to West, Texas. I'm surprised there was anything to blow up.
Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Signe on April 18, 2013, 07:50:19 AM April is the cruellest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain. :heart: I'm about ready to give up the tv, radio and internet. Everything that happens inside there is horrible and scary. I'll just sit in my Cabin in the Woods and read poetry. When I'm completely done with this world, I'll simply cross the road. To die. In the rain. Like a chicken. Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Ironwood on April 18, 2013, 07:53:02 AM I'll just sit in my Cabin in the Woods Seriously ? That's where you're going to escape the scary ? Haven't you seen the film ??? Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: schild on April 18, 2013, 07:55:29 AM I'll just sit in my Cabin in the Woods Seriously ? That's where you're going to escape the scary ? Haven't you seen the film ??? Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Signe on April 18, 2013, 07:59:53 AM I didn't actually see the film, but I remember the name of the two hour short story from the TV. It's on my list to watch, though! (now)
Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: ghost on April 18, 2013, 08:12:51 AM Just take an axe or two. And maybe a shotgun. It will work out okay.
Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Tale on April 18, 2013, 07:43:22 PM Some guy finished the Boston marathon and the first bomb exploded behind him, then he went to West, Texas and... (http://bigstory.ap.org/article/marathon-runner-witnesses-double-disasters)
Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Lakov_Sanite on April 18, 2013, 07:47:55 PM Some guy finished the Boston marathon and the first bomb exploded behind him, then he went to West, Texas and... (http://bigstory.ap.org/article/marathon-runner-witnesses-double-disasters) Final Destination? Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: MahrinSkel on April 18, 2013, 07:53:27 PM Some guy finished the Boston marathon and the first bomb exploded behind him, then he went to West, Texas and... (http://bigstory.ap.org/article/marathon-runner-witnesses-double-disasters) Final Destination? --Dave Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Venkman on April 18, 2013, 08:24:00 PM Jesus Christ, that's like John MacClane wrong guy/wrong place timing. Poor man, hope he doesn't get a complex.
Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Hawkbit on April 19, 2013, 01:38:55 AM Huh. I find it oddly coincidental that this explosion took place two days before the 20th anniversary of the culmination of the Branch Dividian siege.
This week is really messed up. Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Lantyssa on April 19, 2013, 06:24:06 AM Jesus Christ, that's like John MacClane wrong guy/wrong place timing. Poor man, hope he doesn't get a complex. I'm thinking prime suspect.Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Venkman on April 19, 2013, 06:37:22 AM Huh. I find it oddly coincidental that this explosion took place two days before the 20th anniversary of the culmination of the Branch Dividian siege. This week is really messed up. On the one hand, nothing surprises me anymore so this wouldn't either. But on the other hand, there's at least 10 notable things that have happened every day sometime during the 2000 years. Like today is the (calendar adjusted) founding of Rome and Shakepeare was born :grin: Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Mrbloodworth on April 19, 2013, 08:23:32 AM This is what deregulation brings.
Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Goumindong on April 19, 2013, 04:29:18 PM And then there's the hick in the video linked in the original post, who apparently brought his kid to watch the fun fireworks. What a douche. He probably had just picked his kid up from school and was spectating at what was assumed to be a safe distance. Something to note though is that, iirc, the reason you can't see much after the blast Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Soln on April 19, 2013, 06:28:00 PM I liked Hurley.
Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Ghambit on April 19, 2013, 08:53:36 PM woops, wrong thread... i'm tired
Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Sheepherder on April 22, 2013, 02:02:33 AM No-one could know that there was the equivalent of a nuke brewing in that place, certainly not the people that were there fighting the fire. Umm, no. They very likely knew exactly what was stored at the plant, because it's the only industry in their town, even ignoring the commonsense notion that a fertilizer plant holds fertilizer. In addition, fire departments get to do things like hold inspections. Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Merusk on April 22, 2013, 05:08:35 AM Report this morning is that the State/ Local Environmental health department DID know about the 250 TONS of ammonium nitrate fertilizer being stored on site but didn't report it to DHS as required. The last safety inspection in 2011 would have uncovered this.
Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Lantyssa on April 22, 2013, 08:07:56 AM Texas' environmental controls are shit. The State does everything it can to bury anything that might hurt business. Looks like this is another case of it coming back to bite us.
Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: IainC on April 22, 2013, 08:36:53 AM There are 2200 OSHA inspectors in the whole of the US. On average they'd have the manpower to inspect a facility like this one once every 129 years. Between those times they have to rely on whistleblowers (in a right to work state) or voluntary reporting.
Illuminating Guardian piece on the collapse and capture of the safety inspectorate in the US (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/apr/22/texas-explosion-workplace-safety-cuts). Quote Even a modest growth in inspector rolls would be insufficient to make up for the growth in the workforce since OSHA's founding. Thus instead of inspectors, we get whistleblowers: a promise from the government that we may not be able to check conditions ourselves, but if you bother to tell us, we'll be very grateful. The reliance on self-reporting following the defunding of government enforcement is just one more part of a cycle that began in this country with the collapse of collective bargaining, an institution which at one point created workplace safety committees that took the place of both expansive state regulation and whistleblowing as a means of securing safe places to work. It's no coincidence that many of the worst such incidents occur in states affected by both austerity cuts and low or declining union membership. Texas, a proud right-to-work state, led the nation in fatal workplace accidents in 2011, the last year data are available, with 433; more than twice the number of fatalities in the next largest state, New York, and nearly 50% more than California, despite having just two-thirds of California's workforce. To be fair to Texas, workplace accidents can happen anywhere and at any time. But that's precisely the point. Republicans and shady employers don't like unions, federal regulation, or whistleblowers. They presumably don't like massive deadly explosions, either. But they cling to the fantasy that they can have none of the above. Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Ingmar on April 22, 2013, 11:09:36 AM didn't report it to DHS Maybe we can send them to prison under the Patriot Act. :why_so_serious: Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Soulflame on April 22, 2013, 12:38:24 PM Why would they care about massive deadly explosions? After all, the feds will come in and pay for the whole thing, with other people's money.
Just more privatize the profits, socialize the risk. Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Morat20 on April 22, 2013, 05:03:46 PM Texas' environmental controls are shit. The State does everything it can to bury anything that might hurt business. Looks like this is another case of it coming back to bite us. It can be summed up in George Bush's "Voluntary Disclosure" program. Wherein industries would PROMISE not to pollute, and in return we wouldn't check.No, I'm not fucking kidding. It didn't fly, even in Texas. Title: Re: Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas Post by: Khaldun on April 23, 2013, 05:55:12 PM Trying to keep this out of politics, but the disparity in how we cover this story nationwide compared to Boston is a fascinating blueprint of power and the public imaginary. Two catastrophes, many deaths and injuries, and human agency and responsibility involved in both. But so so very different for reasons that are both legitimate and not in how they're talked about and followed up on.
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