After death, protests of waste plant begin anew (OSHA fine $102,000)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6520518.html

By BRADLEY OLSON and MIKE TOLSON Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
July 8, 2009, 11:34PM

An explosion that killed a worker at a southeast Houston waste-processing facility this week has thrust a troubled company back into the spotlight at City Hall and brought one more in a series of protests from people who live nearby.

The Houston Fire Department and Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office declined to identify the dead man Wednesday. They said he suffered third-degree burns over most of his body while cleaning a tanker that had been carrying ethanol. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration is investigating the death.

“We are working with OSHA to try to figure out what happened,” said Greg Bowman, vice president of accounting, finance and administration for CES Environmental Services. “Nobody (else) was actually out there when it happened. It was as fast as a clap and then it was gone. There was no fire.”

The explosion blew a hole in the roof of the bay where the vehicle was parked.

“We’re a family business, and the person killed was a friend to us,” Bowman said about an hour after neighbors had finished a protest in front of the facility at 4904 Griggs. “It matters. It’s personal.”

The death was the third at a regional CES operation since December. The two others occurred in Port Arthur, but there have been three other incidents at the Griggs location in the past nine months — two explosions and one fire — that did not cause significant injury. Such problems, as well as environmental troubles, have prompted criticism from residents, activists and City Council members who say the city should have continued its efforts to shut down the Houston location instead of settling with the company in February.

FULL story at link.