Is it the 4'th of july?

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Watch explosion video he

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/18/us/tex...ion/index.html
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5 to 15 people confirmed killed in West fertilizer plant explosion, but
officials fear dozens may have died


17 April 2013 08:28 PM

A massive explosion at a fertilizer plant rocked the town of West, north
of Waco, causing multiple casualties and leaving people trapped and
buildings on fire.

Emergency personnel were bracing for the possibility of dozens of dead
in the blast, which was reported at 7:53 p.m. and could be heard 45
miles away in Waxahachie.

Although authorities confirmed that at least five to 15 people had died,
shortly before 5 a.m. they were still saying they did not have an
official total. They have said they expect to find more bodies as they
continue to search the area.

West's EMS director, Dr. George Smith, confirmed after 4 a.m. that two
emergency personnel had been killed in the explosion, which occurred at
West Fertilizer Co., just off Interstate 35, about 80 miles south of
Dallas.

Smith said he could not yet confirm whether three to five firefighters
and one police officer who have been reported as missing had died.

Officials said more than 160 people had been treated for injuries at
various hospitals, but that number could continue to climb as emergency
personnel search for survivors at 5 a.m.

A blaze had broken out earlier at the plant, and the explosion occurred
while firefighters were trying to put it out.

“It was a small fire and then water got sprayed on the ammonium nitrate,
and it exploded just like the Oklahoma City bomb,” said Jason Shelton, a
clerk at the Czech Best Western Hotel in West. “I live about a thousand
feet from it and it blew my screen door off and my back windows. There’s
houses leveled that were right next to it.”

Authorities were evacuating residents of the town of 2,600, including
more than 130 occupants of a nearby nursing home badly damaged in the
blast that had spread debris across a wide area.

City Council member Al Vanek said a four-block area around the
explosion's epicenter was “totally decimated.” Other witnesses compared
the scene to that of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, and authorities
said the plant made materials similar to that used to fuel the bomb that
tore apart that city’s Murrah Federal Building.

Numerous buildings were on fire, including the nursing home and West
Middle School. An emergency dispatcher calling for multiple ambulances
said, “We do have a lot of injured here.”

Everything around the plant had been blown apart or collapsed, including
a nearby apartment complex with about 50 units that had been destroyed.

Among the damaged buildings were 50 to 75 houses.

“That whole side of town looks like a disaster,” Bill Manolakis said.
“Who in their right mind sticks a damn plant next to houses?”

Witnesses described a chaotic scene, with rescuers and evacuees
scrambling as traffic backed up for miles on I-35 and livestock ran
loose.

A triage center that had been set up at West High School was being moved
after emergency personnel became worried that harmful fumes might
spread. Authorities were also monitoring a second tank near the blast
site that was prompting concerns of another explosion.

West Mayor Tommy Muska said residents were bracing for news of
neighbors' deaths.

“We’ve got a lot of people who are hurt, and there’s a lot of people,
I’m sure, who aren’t gonna be here tomorrow,” he said. “We’re gonna
search for everybody. We’re gonna make sure everybody’s accounted for.
That’s the most important thing right now.”

Muska, who is also a volunteer firefighter, said the town’s department
went to the plant to fight the blaze, which officials said was reported
at 7:29 p.m. The blast that followed knocked off his fire helmet and
blew out the doors and windows of his nearby home.

Muska said the main fire was under control by 11 p.m., but residents
were urged to remain indoors because of the threat of new explosions or
leaks of ammonia from the plant’s ruins.

The disaster prompted a large-scale deployment of law enforcement and
emergency personnel from the region, with hospitals and fire-rescue
personnel in Dallas among those ready to help. Hospitals as far away as
Temple had been asked to prepare for hundreds of patients, and numerous
emergency helicopters had been dispatched to assist, though high winds
were hampering their flights.

Department of Public Safety troopers took some victims to hospitals in
Waco, which is about 20 miles south of West.

Glenn Robinson, the chief executive of Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center
in Waco, said the hospital had received nearly 100 patients who arrived
in ambulances and private vehicles.

He said more than 40 people were in serious condition, with injuries
including burns, broken bones and large lacerations. But he said he
expected most patients would be released throughout the night.

He said that though some people were still in surgery about 1:30 a.m.,
"many have already been treated and released."

All the patients who had come to the hospital had survived, Robinson
said. Ambulances from across Central Texas had helped transport the
patients, and more than 250 off-duty doctors and nurses responded as
word of the emergency spread.

Bill Bohannan told the Waco Tribune-Herald he witnessed the devastating
blast while visiting his parents’ home near the plant.

“I was standing next to my car with my fiancée, waiting for my parents
to come out and [the plant] exploded,” he said. “It knocked us into the
car. … Every house within about four blocks is blown apart,” he said.

People as far as 50 miles away reported feeling what seemed like an
earthquake. The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the blast generated
enough force to register like a magnitude 2.1 earthquake.

Paul Manigrasso, a Gulf War veteran, felt the blast in Waxahachie.

“Based on my naval experience ... we knew immediately what it was but
cannot believe it occurred 40 miles away,” he told KWTX-TV.

Andy Bartee of Dallas was driving home from Austin when he stopped at a
convenience store about five miles from the explosion. Suddenly the
lights went out and the explosion rocked the building.

“You could feel it in your chest and ears,” he said. Ceiling tiles fell
and pictures on the wall broke.

“It was pretty nuts,” he said. “It looked like a mushroom cloud. It
looked like an atom bomb had been dropped,” Bartee said. “I’ve never
seen or felt anything like that.”

Debby Marak said she had seen the plant burning and had driven closer to
see what was happening but reversed direction after two boys ran toward
her screaming that authorities had told them to flee because the plant
was going to explode.

“It was like being in a tornado,” Marak said of the blast that erupted
as she was driving away. “Stuff was flying everywhere. It blew out my
windshield. It was like the whole Earth shook.”

In the disarray surrounding the explosion, officials were working to get
a grasp on the magnitude of the disaster.

The American Red Cross was sending teams from throughout the region and
was working to find shelter for the evacuees.

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board was deploying a large investigation team
to West, and Gov. Rick Perry said state officials were monitoring
developments.

“We are … gathering information as details continue to emerge about this
incident,” he said. “We have also mobilized state resources to help
local authorities. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of West,
and the first responders on the scene.”

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives will be
investigating the incident, but officials have emphasized that they have
not determined whether the incident was anything but an industrial
accident. However, authorities have said they will treat the blast zone
as a crime scene until they have determined the cause of the explosion
for certain.

West is widely known for its annual Westfest, which celebrates the
city’s Czech heritage. It’s the home of several well-known bakeries,
including the Czech Stop and Little Czech Bakery.

The disaster was drawing worldwide media attention, as well as
widespread expressions of sympathy. Pope Francis issued a request
online: "Please join me in praying for the victims of the explosion in
Texas and their families."

In Bob Blaster
wrote:

5 to 15 people confirmed killed

If the deaths are "confirmed," how can there be any confusion in the
number of dead?

--
St. Paul, MN

On Apr 18, 5:15*am, Bob Blaster wrote:
...snip...
“That whole side of town looks like a disaster,” Bill Manolakis said.
“Who in their right mind sticks a damn plant next to houses?”
... snip....

Usually the plant is already there and greedy builders [with city
councils' blessings] place housing around it and people move in,
because work is close.

On Thu, 18 Apr 2013 08:57:15 -0700 (PDT), Robert Macy
wrote:

Usually the plant is already there and greedy builders [with city
councils' blessings] place housing around it and people move in,
because work is close.

Cell phone video:

http://video.foxnews.com/v/2308706723001/

On 4/18/13 7:15 AM, Bob Blaster wrote:
Is it the 4'th of july?

============================================

Watch explosion video he

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/18/us/tex...ion/index.html
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Cut rest due to AIOE quotation limit.
I doubt the explosion of the plant will have much effect on food
prices. Fertilizer cost is only one expense for raising corn. Nitrogen
isn't required for raising soybeans since they're legumes. Alfalfa is
also.
One other reason is it's almost corn planting time here in the Corn
Belt. That means a good share of the fields are already fertilized for
this coming season. It used to be common practice to apply fertilizer
in the fall for the coming season in my area. (central Nebraska)
I couldn't find the annual production of this plant. The best info
I could find said there are 44 NH3 plants in the U.S.
More info from New York State he http://tinyurl.com/byhs7xt
More he
A hundred dollar per ton change in NH3 price means the per acre cost
changes $9 per acre. That's not much per bushel assuming 200
bushel/acre corn.
From: http://tinyurl.com/crxw6gz (University of Illinois)

Dean Hoffman wrote:

Cut rest due to AIOE quotation limit.

As it should.

When your posts are being flagged for improper message-compostion style
by the server, that should tell you something.

It should tell you that you are improperly and unnecessarily
full-quoting or over-quoting in your reply.

I doubt the explosion of the plant will have much effect on food
prices. Fertilizer cost is only one expense for raising corn.

An exposion that large would have taken out many tons of raw
ingredients, finished goods, means of production, etc. The insurance
payout will also mean an incrimental increase in insurance premiums
thoughout the re-insurance food chain.

Fertilizer is a huge part of modern farming, and a huge input cost.

chemical plants and anything explosive should never be close to towns
and citys.......

its far to risky when things go wrong....

On Thu, 18 Apr 2013 17:12:12 -0700 (PDT), bob haller
wrote:

chemical plants and anything explosive should never be close to towns
and citys.......


What about LNG plants in Houston? Ban them too?

its far to risky when things go wrong....

Hide behind the couch or under the bed. The world is full of risks.

Don't believe me, then just look around you!

On Thu, 18 Apr 2013 15:10:44 +0000 (UTC), Bert
wrote:

In Bob Blaster
wrote:

5 to 15 people confirmed killed

If the deaths are "confirmed," how can there be any confusion in the
number of dead?

You really expect the MSM to be able to count?

On Thu, 18 Apr 2013 17:12:12 -0700 (PDT), bob haller
wrote:

chemical plants and anything explosive should never be close to towns
and citys.......

its far to risky when things go wrong....

....even when the town grows up around them? I bet you hate it when
people drive long distances to work, too. Go figure.

Home Guy wrote:

I doubt the explosion of the plant will have much effect on food
prices. Fertilizer cost is only one expense for raising corn.

An exposion that large would have taken out many tons of raw
ingredients, finished goods, means of production, etc. The insurance
payout will also mean an incrimental increase in insurance premiums
thoughout the re-insurance food chain.

Fertilizer is a huge part of modern farming, and a huge input cost.

It was not a "plant" in any real sense, it was a blending and
distribution facility. All that was lost in terms of fertilizer was some
product and storage silos, nothing that will in any way affect
fertilizer production. The area farmers will just have to get their
fertilizer from another facility a bit further away.

As for the proximity of the plant to residential areas, the plant was
built in the middle of nowhere by the rail line long before the housing
was built around it. The city management is to blame for the proximity,
not the plant.

On Apr 18, 9:28*pm, "Pete C." wrote:
Home Guy wrote:

I doubt the explosion of the plant will have much effect on food
prices. *Fertilizer cost is only one expense for raising corn.

An exposion that large would have taken out many tons of raw
ingredients, finished goods, means of production, etc. *The insurance
payout will also mean an incrimental increase in insurance premiums
thoughout the re-insurance food chain.

Fertilizer is a huge part of modern farming, and a huge input cost.

It was not a "plant" in any real sense, it was a blending and
distribution facility. All that was lost in terms of fertilizer was some
product and storage silos, nothing that will in any way affect
fertilizer production. The area farmers will just have to get their
fertilizer from another facility a bit further away.

As for the proximity of the plant to residential areas, the plant was
built in the middle of nowhere by the rail line long before the housing
was built around it. The city management is to blame for the proximity,
not the plant.

dont build homes around things that can go boom..........

simple easy and safe.

or build a high blast wall around the permiter of plants. with a dish
shape the blast force would be directed up, rather than out....

On Thu, 18 Apr 2013 19:45:02 -0700 (PDT), bob haller
wrote:

dont build homes around things that can go boom..........


....like a gas water heater

simple easy and safe.


Hide everybody

or build a high blast wall around the permiter of plants. with a dish
shape the blast force would be directed up, rather than out....

....spending other peoples money. Huh bob?

On 4/18/2013 9:54 PM, Oren wrote:
On Thu, 18 Apr 2013 19:45:02 -0700 (PDT), bob haller
wrote:

dont build homes around things that can go boom..........


...like a gas water heater

simple easy and safe.


Hide everybody

or build a high blast wall around the permiter of plants. with a dish
shape the blast force would be directed up, rather than out....

...spending other peoples money. Huh bob?


Perhaps don't hire unqualified dumb-asses for jobs that have a potential
for a dangerous accident because you've been forced
to by government policies. Here in my city, we had a sign at our
newly remodeled airport fall on a child killing him and seriously
injuring his mother. The airport authority has refused to release
information on who installed the sign. The story is that some dumb-ass
used liquid nails adhesive to stick the sign to the wall instead of
the proper metal anchors. o_O

TDD

Oren wrote:

or build a high blast wall around the permiter of plants. with a dish
shape the blast force would be directed up, rather than out....

A blast berm around the plant would have been pretty inexpensive and
probably would have helped a lot.

On Apr 18, 10:54*pm, Oren wrote:
On Thu, 18 Apr 2013 19:45:02 -0700 (PDT), bob haller
wrote:

dont build homes around things that can go boom..........

...like a gas water heater

simple easy and safe.

Hide everybody

or build a high blast wall around the permiter of plants. with a dish
shape the blast force would be directed up, rather than out....

...spending other peoples money. Huh bob?

insurance will be paying to rebuild that town and pay for damages like
pain suffereing and death all the people who died, their kids will
be getting social security till age 25 or so....

Guess what everyone pays those costs

On 4/19/2013 9:19 AM, bob haller wrote:
On Apr 18, 10:54 pm, Oren wrote:
On Thu, 18 Apr 2013 19:45:02 -0700 (PDT), bob haller
wrote:

dont build homes around things that can go boom..........

...like a gas water heater

simple easy and safe.

Hide everybody

or build a high blast wall around the permiter of plants. with a dish
shape the blast force would be directed up, rather than out....

...spending other peoples money. Huh bob?

insurance will be paying to rebuild that town and pay for damages like
pain suffereing and death all the people who died, their kids will
be getting social security till age 25 or so....

Guess what everyone pays those costs


It's the kind of senseless accident that could have been avoided or
mitigated easily and tears your heart out for the injured or killed
especially if children are involved. I get angry when kids are harmed,
particularly when someone does something stupid. O_o

TDD

On Thu, 18 Apr 2013 19:54:15 -0700, Oren wrote:

On Thu, 18 Apr 2013 19:45:02 -0700 (PDT), bob haller
wrote:

dont build homes around things that can go boom..........


...like a gas water heater

simple easy and safe.


Hide everybody

or build a high blast wall around the permiter of plants. with a dish
shape the blast force would be directed up, rather than out....

...spending other peoples money. Huh bob?

What else do you expect a lefty to do? It's like rain and wet.

On Fri, 19 Apr 2013 07:19:19 -0700 (PDT), bob haller
wrote:

On Apr 18, 10:54*pm, Oren wrote:
On Thu, 18 Apr 2013 19:45:02 -0700 (PDT), bob haller
wrote:

dont build homes around things that can go boom..........

...like a gas water heater

simple easy and safe.

Hide everybody

or build a high blast wall around the permiter of plants. with a dish
shape the blast force would be directed up, rather than out....

...spending other peoples money. Huh bob?

insurance will be paying to rebuild that town and pay for damages like
pain suffereing and death all the people who died, their kids will
be getting social security till age 25 or so....

Your proposal would have that plant, and every other similar plant,
move to another area.

Guess what everyone pays those costs

Guess who would pay for your *dumb* ideas?