(The Center Square) – The Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined Accurate Energetic Systems $3.1 million after investigating a deadly October explosion at the Bucksnort plant that killed 16 people.
The agency said Wednesday that of the 100 violations, 59 were deemed willful, 32 were serious, nine were repeat serious violations, and five were other than serious.
The majority of the fine, $3 million, was due to willful violations, which “indicate an employer’s intentional disregard for the requirements of the TOSH Act or plain indifference to employee safety and health, not malicious intent,” according to the department.
Accurate Energetic Systems is reviewing the findings, CEO Wendell Stinson said in a statement provided to The Center Square.
‘We have 20 days to respond to the findings and will also meet with TOSHA within that time period,” Stinson said in the statement. “We believe that TOSHA’s findings do not represent the standard of safety we strive to achieve every day, nor our commitment to the well-being of our team members and their loved ones.”
The fine is the largest from the agency, surpassing a $308,000 fine levied in 2001 after an explosion at a military flare manufacturer killed an employee. The investigation was also the largest conducted by the state Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the agency said.
The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is continuing its investigation, the Bureau said in an email to The Center Square. Accurate Energetic Systems is assisting government investigations, Stinson said.
“As we closely assess these compliance findings alongside ongoing investigations, including our own, into what caused the explosion, our top priority will remain our employees, their families, and our neighbors,” Stinson said. “We will continue providing long-term care and resources through the AES Families Support Fund as well as Helping Hands of Hickman County, Centerstone, and through the support of thousands of our friends, neighbors, parishioners and partners.”
The explosion at the plant was so strong it registered as an earthquake with a 1.6 magnitude, according to the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Earthquake Center. Bucksnort is on the Humphreys and Hickman county line, about 50 miles west of Nashville.
