Saturday, February 03, 2007

No Baker Commission Report on Massachusetts Explosion?

For some reason the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board chose not to contract out their investigation into the Massachusetts paint and ink factory explosion. Internal investigators are handling the root cause analysis. Did ex. Secretary of State James Baker have a previous commitment or does he hate doing work in New England, the home of many of America’s founding fathers?

The agency’s budget probably couldn’t handle another heavy hitter investigation as it spent over $2 million on the BP Texas City one chaired by Mr. Baker.

Unfortunately John Vorderbrueggen released his findings in a surprise fashion. One firm quickly responded to his suggestion that vapors hadn’t been properly controlled.

CAI issued a statement calling the preliminary report was unexpected and premature. "It is simply too early in the investigative process to determine with any degree of certainty what caused the blast," the statement said.

The early morning blast Nov. 22 in Danvers, 17 miles north of Boston, damaged 70 houses and businesses and made hundreds homeless, though no one was killed or seriously injured.

The folks from CAI must have expected a “White House Investigation Lite” seen after the CIA agent leak and etched into stone by its Lessons Learned report after Hurricane Katrina. How can anyone be responsible when it’s an unprecedented disaster?

Lawyers defending civil suits love it when the feds fail to weigh in…

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