Shared from the 2018-05-18 The Denver Post
PRUITT AMENDS SAFETY RULES** Earth Protect NOTE: New Plant Explosion Days Later
WASHINGTON » Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt moved Thursday to rescind a series of safety measures proposed for chemical plants nationwide after a deadly blast at a Texas fertilizer plant.
Pruitt signed a significantly revised slate of rules from the Obama era on safety and risk management at 12,500 U.S. facilities, including chemical plants and refineries. A chemical manufacturing group welcomed the changes, while spokesman Alex Formuzis of the Environmental Working Group called them a “hollowing out” of the original safety upgrades.
The rules were prompted by a 2013 explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, that killed 15 people. The blast ripped open a 90-foot-wide crater and hurled debris for miles.
Pruitt’s changes eliminate several of the original requirements concerning safety training, accident prevention and accident investigations.
New Chemical Plant Explosion as Pruitt degrades safety rules.