The West Fertilizer Co. plant that exploded on Wednesday night was in the middle of a a small Texas town.
West, Texas is a town with a population of 2,674 people. Of this small population, more than 100 were injured and 5 to 15 killed in the massive explosion.
As you can see from the map below, the fertilizer plant was right across the street from West High School. Thankfully, the explosion happened at 7:53 PM, when the school would not normally be in session.
An ammonia smell coming from the plant, which is owned by Adair Grain Inc., was investigated in 2006/2007. The plant agreed to limit tank levels "to ensure maintainable pressure levels" and reduce possible emissions. Texas officials concluded that emissions from the plant would not pose a danger, according to Dallas News. The plant still had as much as 54,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia on hand, Dallas News reports.
Exposure to this toxic ammonia could be a dangerous factor in the explosion.
See photos of the damage here >
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