A huge explosion at the Bayer Cropscience plant in West Virginia last year was so massive that it was felt 10 miles away. The force of the explosion propelled a huge tank weighing several thousand pounds 50 feet into the air. The blast killed two workers and injured six of the firemen who fought to contain the blaze. According to the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, which Congress created to investigate chemical accidents, managers of the Bayer plant disabled chemical detection devices and video cameras in an effort to thwart investigation into the cause of the blast. Even worse, the managers refused to tell the first responders any information about the explosion and later withheld company documents to keep federal investigators from determining what happened.
Luckily for the workers and first responders, the blast did not go toward a nearby tank containing methyl isocyanate or MIC, the chemical that killed thousands in a 1984 plant explosion in Bhopal, India. The big question is why would Bayer CropScience disable chemical detectors specifically installed to warn of MIC contamination? And why would they not advise the emergency personnel what chemicals were involved in the explosion? And why after the fact, did the company withhold vital documentation needed by the federal investigators? Company documents also showed a specific strategy to restrict information and manipulate local groups and newspapers.
The death of two workers was tragic enough, but the result of the explosion would have been catastrophic if the tank containing the MIC had been involved. Federal and congressional investigators should hold the Bayer CropScience managers and top policymakers to the strictest accountability for its failure to comply with safety standards, failure to provide accurate and timely information and their attempted coverup in order to deter such conduct in the future. Chemical companies who produce and store thousands of pounds of dangerous toxic chemicals must be held to the highest safety standards and required to promptly cooperate with emergency responders when an accident occurs.
Richard J. Arsenault, 2011
