Congressional Democrats Want To Know

Did gaps in federal regulations contribute to the fertilizer plant explosion in Texas? Congressional Democrats want to know. They have asked the Government Accountability Office to check whether the Occupational Safety and Health Administration should have been monitoring conditions inside the plant. OSHA is responsible for making sure more than 7 million workplaces are safe. But some facilities with fewer than ten employees are exempt from oversight. Conflicting reports show the West Texas plant might have had 13 employees or just seven. OSHA last inspected it in 1985.