West Texas, 15 Dead, $118,000 in fines

Posted by | October 11, 2013 19:22 | Filed under: Contributors Opinion Stuart Shapiro Top Stories

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Sadly many people have probably already put the West, Texas fertilizer plant explosion that killed 15 people out of their minds.  Yesterday OSHA announced what can only be termed a slap on the wrist for the owner of the plant.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Adair Grain Inc., which owns the fertilizer facility in West, Texas, with 24 infractions for exposing workers to fires, explosions and burns from the chemicals it stored.

OSHA is proposing penalties totaling $118,000 for the violations.

OSHA is limited in the amount it can fine plant owners.  Congress needs to remove those limits, because a fine this small will do little to deter occupational safety violations that make these tragedies more likely.

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Copyright 2013 Liberaland
By: Stuart Shapiro

Stuart is a professor and the Director of the Public Policy
program at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers
University. He teaches economics and cost-benefit analysis and studies
regulation in the United States at both the federal and state levels.
Prior to coming to Rutgers, Stuart worked for five years at the Office
of Management and Budget in Washington under Presidents Clinton and
George W. Bush.