Separating guilt from negligence

Last week in West, Texas, a massive explosion erupted into the sky, blasting nearby houses and shattering windows within several blocks.

A mushroom cloud shot into the sky. Fourteen  innocent people have been killed, and more than 160 are in serious condition.

Who was behind this?

Now, I do not wish to imply this was an act of terrorism. I also do not wish to imply anyone purposefully initiated the explosion.

I do wish to imply that when the cause of this explosion is determined, it is likely to be classified as an “accident,” possibly the result of negligence, but certainly not an
intentional act.

What this really means is that justice for the victims will never be served. 

With the nation’s attention set on Boston, I am concerned that the tragic fertilizer explosion in West will slide on by, and as a country, we will miss our opportunity to engage in an increasingly urgent debate over corporate negligence and accountability.

Last month, the Global Accountability Project brought Rick Plitz and Ken Kendrick to the IU campus, two whistleblowers who left their jobs and spoke out publicly after witnessing severe negligence in the workplace.

Joining these men for dinner during their visit, I was able to hear their personal stories.  
For 10 years, Plitz was an environmental scientist with the U.S. Global Change Research Program. In 2005 he resigned in protest of members of the Bush Administration editing climate change reports to purposely mislead the public.

Today he is the founder and director of Climate Science Watch, a nonprofit advocacy project working to ensure accountability among government officials engaged in climate change policy.

Plitz explained that our nation is much too lenient when it comes to assuming the free-market will ensure accountability and transparency.

While we know it is true, we still don’t allow ourselves to recognize that corporations cut corners.

We assume that regulatory agencies such as the FDA or EPA are ensuring compliance.

When we observe injustice in our own lives, we turn the other cheek out of fear of
persecution.

Kendrick’s story shows what happens when we refuse to sit back quietly.

As an assistant plant manager at Peanut Corporation of America, Kendrick became alarmed at the public health violations he was witnessing, including operating the plant without a license.

After hearing about a salmonella outbreak caused by contaminated peanuts that killed nine people, Kendrick went on Good Morning America to accuse PCA and the Texas Department of Health of negligence that ultimately led to the death of innocent people.

When the plant closed as the result of Kendrick’s whistleblowing, 300 people lost their jobs, and he has been verbally attacked by members of the community who blame him, not the corporation, for losing their jobs. 

The Associated Press said the West fertilizer plant had last been inspected by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in 1985 when it was cited for violating storage safety standards of anhydrous ammonia, the chemical that caused the blast.

The plant also lacked the proper sprinkler system meant as a security precaution.

Did anyone within the plant recognize this danger? If the explosion is determined to have been the result of negligence, will those who kept quiet be held accountable?

When will we begin to demand more from our regulatory agencies?

In coming weeks, the way the American legal system handles the Texas fertilizer explosion will speak volumes about our nation’s views on negligence and accountability.

Hopefully we will learn something from this devastating tragedy.

­— bridgela@indiana.edu