Plant's safety record touted

     Donrey Capital Bureau RENO -- The owner of a chemical plant that exploded Wednesday and left four workers presumed dead insisted Friday his company has a good safety record and thorough employee safety training program.
      Breaking two days of public silence, Stanley Kinder said investigators may never find the cause for the back-to-back explosions that demolished his Sierra Chemical Co. plant in a remote canyon 10 miles east of Reno. Six other workers were injured in the 7:54 a.m. blasts Wednesday.
     

Eduardo Cruz, a worker seriously injured in Wednesday's blast at an explosives plant east of Reno, prepares to meet the media at Washoe Medical Center on Friday. Photos by Marilyn Newton/Associated Press With a rosary on his wrist and tubes protruding through a pajama sleeve, Eduardo Cruz gestures while answering questions.

"They will have some answers," said Kinder of the investigators at the explosion site. "We never may know precisely what happened."
      Following the blasts, Gov. Bob Miller ordered state safety officials to inspect all explosives manufacturers in Nevada.
      In Clark County, three companies -- Western Explosives of Laughlin, Nevada Pacific Mining of Boulder City and Sanders Construction Inc. -- are licensed by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to manufacture explosives.
      "In the wake of the tragedy at Sierra Chemical Co., I want all explosive manufacturing sites inspected again as soon as possible," Miller said. "An accelerated schedule of inspections will begin immediately."
      Partial remains of a second missing Sierra Chemical worker were found Friday afternoon in the plant rubble by search dogs working with 65 investigators, including 22 from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
      The body of another victim was found in the debris Thursday. The remains of the two other missing workers have not been located.
      While authorities have not released the names of the dead or missing workers, family members have identified them as Alberto Jacobo Acosta, 23; Francisco Espinosa, 28, Demetrio Hernandez, 37, and Marcos Hernandez, 27. All come from Guanajuato, Mexico.
      Kinder said he welcomed workers from Mexico because "they are extremely good workers. They are first-class people."
      He said the workers made between $24,000 and $32,000 a year. They manufactured Cast Primers, explosive devices used by construction companies and the mining industry.
      Kinder rejected complaints of some of the victims' relatives that racism has delayed the search for remains. He said investigators could not proceed with a complete probe until about noon Friday when it was determined that the explosion site was safe.
      He said his general manager is Hispanic, and Spanish-speaking supervisors worked on every shift.
      Kinder also disputed reports that he has ignored victims' relatives, saying he met with them and chaplains Wednesday.
      "It's not true these are second-hand employees," he said. "They are key employees with full benefits."
      Tova Roseman, a spokeswoman for the company, disputed allegations by Jess Traver, a Washoe County building inspector, that Sierra Chemical illegally operated a propane-powered boiler in one of the buildings that blew up.
      She said the boiler had proper permits and had been operating for a month, although it had not received a final county inspection.
      Traver has turned information on the boiler over to investigators at the explosion scene. The boiler would have received a final inspection Friday if the explosion had not occurred.
      The Washoe County Fire Department had not made regular inspections of the plant since 1992, although its policies require four annual inspections.
      Kinder said at a news conference that the company has been producing explosives at the canyon site since 1972 with few problems.
      He said the plant was constructed in a remote canyon, one mile north of Interstate 80, because of safety concerns.
      Kinder said he intends to rebuild the plant after the investigation ends.
      In a prepared statement, Roseman said Sierra Chemical "is fully licensed and has complied with and passed all inspections conducted by a multitude of regulatory agencies on an ongoing basis."
      Lonnie Kellar, Sierra Chemical's regulatory compliance officer, said employees received as many as 40 hours of safety training per year.
      He disputed charges by Eduardo Cruz, an injured worker, who said he never received any training in four years of working at the plant. Kellar said Cruz participated in two training courses.
      Miller has appointed Alan Biaggi, deputy administrator of the Division of Environmental Protection, to serve as state liaison on the Sierra Chemical inspection.