WASHINGTON -- The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold the first congressional hearing Thursday on the deadly chemical accident in Geismar. The Williams Olefins chemical facility in Geismar exploded and caught fire on June 13 killed two workers and injured 114 others. The accident released more than 31,000 pounds of toxic chemicals, according to an initial report...
WASHINGTON -- The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold the first congressional hearing Thursday on the deadly chemical accident in Geismar.
The Williams Olefins chemical facility in Geismar exploded and caught fire on June 13 killed two workers and injured 114 others. The accident released more than 31,000 pounds of toxic chemicals, according to an initial report on the accident filed with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.
The committee will also examine the April 17 explosion at a fertilizer manufacturing plant in West, Texas, which killed 15 people, injured more than 160, and destroyed or damaged more than 150 homes and a 50-unit apartment building, according to the panel's chairwoman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.
Among those slated to testify are Rafael Moure-Eraso, chair of the U.S. Chemical Safety Board and Barry Breen, deputy assistant administrator for the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response at the Environmental Protection Agency. Also testifying are Rick Webre, director of the Ascension Parish Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness and Paul Orum of the Coalition to Prevent Chemical Disasters.
Sen. David Vitter, R-La, the committee's top Republican, welcomed the committee investigation.
"Tragically, Louisianians lives were lost and we need to figure out exactly what happened," Vitter said. "Our hearing should be educational and it's very important to understand where things stand in risk management as well as safety and response measures at both the state and federal level."
People can watch the hearing live by tuning in to the webcast at http://epw.senate.gov. It is slated to begin at 9 a.m. CT., though sometimes Senate floor votes can delay hearings.