Texas Has Not Surveyed Injuries From Plant Blast

July 30, 2013

More than three months after a Texas fertilizer plant exploded killing 15 people and hurting hundreds, the state still has not started surveying blast injuries.

Federal and state officials suggest such a study could increase the understanding about how many others may be in similar danger.

West, Texas, May 8, 2013 -- Norman Lenburg/FEMA
West, Texas, May 8, 2013 — Norman Lenburg/FEMA

As of now, the Dallas Morning News reports, the Texas Department of State Health Services cannot even definitively say how many people were hurt when the West Fertilizer Co. exploded in April. An unofficial count estimates more than 300 were injured.

In 1995, when a bomb went off in an Oklahoma City federal building killing 168 people, state officials immediately tracked casualties.

After the West blast, federal officials sent an email to the Texas health department emphasizing the importance of such a survey.

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