The West Texas Fertilizer Plant Explosion Was Not A Freak Event

Greenpeace has listed 483 chemical facilities in the U.S. where 100,000 or more would be at risk from explosions

Dear EarthTalk: The recent explosion at the West, Texas, fertilizer plant that killed many people really alarmed me. Places like this must exist near many communities around the country. How do I know if my own community might be at risk of a similar disaster?—Mary Cyr, Sarasota, Fla.

Many people may not realize that what happened on April 17, 2013 in the town of West, Texas—a fertilizer plant with an unreported large stockpile of explosive ammonium nitrate blew up, killing 14 and rendering hundreds of others injured and homeless—could happen almost anywhere.