Avoid another West tragedy

Friday is the second anniversary of the fire and explosion in the small town of West that killed 15 people, mostly first responders, injured 200 others and caused more than $200 million in damage.

Since then there have been great debates among legislators and policymakers about how best to prevent another disaster of that magnitude involving the highly flammable ammonium nitrate, a main ingredient of fertilizer.

Four bills in the Texas Legislature would address some issues regarding storage of the dangerous chemical, including giving the state fire marshal more authority for inspections, limiting the proximity of ammonium nitrate to other combustible or flammable material, requiring more reporting by facility operators and mandating liability insurance coverage based on the amount of risk.

If lawmakers don’t pass at least some of these bills, they will have failed the people of Texas and stained the memories of those lost in West.

This story was originally published April 15, 2015 at 5:53 PM with the headline "Avoid another West tragedy."