If you, my
followers, had a massive explosion in your back yard in July 29th 2013 sending
53,000 LP Gas cylinders in and around your neighbors buildings, how many times
would you expect the federal government to postpone your hearing?
What is the hold=up?
:-)
As if we didn't
know?
:-)
A federal hearing on
the massive explosion at the Blue Rhino plant in Tavares in 2013 has been
postponed again. The new date is July 28.
It is at least the
fourth postponement of a hearing allowing the company to contest some of the
violations it was hit with by the Occupational Safety and Health Review
Commission stemming from the July 29, 2013,w blast. The explosion turned 53,000
propane tanks into flaming missiles, left area homes and businesses damaged,
injured seven people and was attributed to human error by federal
investigators.
Commission
officials granted a request to the lawyers for Ferrellgas, Blue Rhino’s parent
company, to have the Tuesday hearing moved to July 28 so there’d be more time
to work on the case, according to recently released documents.
The hearing will take
place at an unscheduled place in Orlando, according to Safiya A. Hamit, a
commission spokeswoman.
The initial hearing was
slated for September of last year in Houston before both sides said they needed
more time, prompting the hearing to be pushed to December. Both parties again
asked for an extension to March and motions made by Ferrellgas for more time
got the hearing pushed again to May and then July.
The Occupational Safety
and Health Administration accused Blue Rhino of 26 violations, including
exposing employees to fire hazards from propane cylinders during a process in
which the 20-pound metal cylinders were “bled,” or drained of leftover gas, in the
storage yard in the back of the County Road 448 facility in Tavares that
refurbishes used tanks.
State fire
investigators believe sparks from a forklift being turned on ignited a propane
cloud at the plant that night, which set off an explosion and sent the 53,000
cylinders rocketing over the area, lighting the night sky orange.
Five employees were
left with severe burns, one was in a coma and one was struck by a vehicle in
his attempts to flee from the fire. No criminal charges were filed in the case.
OSHA also cited the
plant for allowing employees to drive forklifts without required training,
failing to ensure that gas or liquid was not vented to the air and failing to
develop and implement written operating procedures that provided clear
instructions for safely conducting activities, as well as the lack of “clear”
instructions for emergency shutdowns and for employees not wearing protective
clothing.
About $70,000 in fines
were levied, including a $9,000 citation issued to Customer Driven Staffing,
which provided the plant with temporary workers. Blue Rhino contested the
findings, stating that any unsafe conditions that led to a massive explosion at
the plant resulted from “unpreventable” and “unforeseeable” employee and/or
supervisor misconduct, according to the company’s challenge of federal
workplace-safety violations.
In its
written response to OSHA’s violation, lawyers for Ferrellgas said the “alleged
violations were the result of isolated and unauthorized actions by certain
employees and/or supervisors which resulted in the conditions.”
MILLARD K. IVES
ORLANDO
millard.ives@dailycommercial.com
Lake County, Florida
Explosions Reported At Blue Rhino Gas Plant (VIDEO/PHOTOS)
Emergency responders
walk around propane cylinders following the Blue Rhino explosion in Tavares in
July 2013.