AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ State officials say some testing that could identify what caused the deadly explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant is not scheduled until 2014.
Assistant State Fire Marshal Kelly Kistner told lawmakers Monday that investigators still haven’t ruled out that the blast was a criminal act. But he
says chances are not great that they’ll ever determine whether the electrical system at West Fertilizer Company played a role.
The April explosion in West killed 15 people and injured 200 others.
State Fire Marshal Chris Connealy also says five Texas facilities that store more than 10,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate have refused to let his office conduct an on-site inspection since the blast.
Connealy didn’t name the companies. He said they “just didn’t want the fire marshal to come on the property.”