W. Fertilizer Explosion: Monsanto Target?

Michael Vara

www.latenightinthemidlands.com

A massive blast at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, on Wednesday night injured and killed an untold number of people.

The Dallas Morning News got its hands on the West Fertilizer Co.’s report, filed with the EPA and local public safety officials assessing the risk of fire or explosion at the plant, which had an estimated 54,000 pounds anhydrous ammonia on site

The report 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. The second worst possibility projected was a leak from a broken hose used to transfer the product, again causing no injuries. The plan says the facility did not have any other dangerous chemicals on hand. It says that the plan was on file with the local fire department and that the company had implemented proper safety rules.

The plant, according to WFAA, was fined $2,300 by the EPA in 2006 for failing to have a risk management assessment that met federal standards (that risk assessment is a different report from the one quoted above, according to both sources). West Fertilizer Co. submitted plans to the agency later that year that included, among other things, daily inspections, a barrier to prevent vehicles from colliding with their ammonia tanks, and a water spray system in case of a leak. The plant hadn’t been fined since then, according to reports.

Here is an interesting tidbit, In 2007 plant owners filed a lawsuit against Monsanto Co.

The suit, filed as a class action in U.S. District Court for the western district of Texas, claimed that Monsanto had artificially inflated prices for its herbicide Roundup through anti-competitive actions. The suit did not relate to storing fertilizer, believed to be at the root of Wednesday’s blast.

The suit was filed by Texas Grain Storage Inc. The company now calls itself West Fertilizer Co.

A court filing in 2008 indicated that Texas Grain Storage recently had been sold. Emil Plasek is listed as a former owner.
Texas Grain Storage said it monitored the Roundup, stored in a stainless steel tank, through a telephone connected to the tank, the company said.

Many documents in the case are sealed, and the public documents don’t reveal the names of the plant’s then-current owners. Texas corporation records list the president of the company as Donald R. Adair, and show a business operating as Adair Grain Inc. at the same address.

Texas Grain Storage was represented by roughly 30 lawyers at 12 firms, according to court records. One lawyer who represented Texas Grain said the suit stalled in 2010 after a magistrate judge denied a request to certify the case as a class action. The lawyer said Texas Grain appealed the ruling, and that a district judge has yet to rule on the appeal. The last public filing in the case was in 2010.

Monsanto responded to Texas Grain’s complaint by saying the company didn’t have standing to bring the case and was barred by the statute of limitations. Thursday, a Monsanto spokesman said, “The long dormant lawsuit filed by Texas Grain had nothing to do with fertilizer or the operation of the West, Texas plant.”

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