On April 17, 2013, in a small Texas town, a fertilizer plant exploded, killing 12 first responders and three other community members and injuring 226 people. Safety experts have spent years looking into the cause of this tragedy in hopes that such events can be mitigated in other communities across the country. This video has been produced by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board to help Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs) understand how to protect their communities from a similar event taking place in their own backyard.
Through information such as this, LEPCs are able to create emergency plans that take into consideration the potential chemicals a facility might have, their proximity to residences, safety controls and procedures that are in place, potential chemical reactions that could occur, and the effects they may have on people and the environment, as well as many other details that can impact our community. Working with our facilities, we are able to work collaboratively to ensure that every step is taken to protect local residents from a disaster such as this.