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CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Kanawha Valley residents will get a chance to hear from - and speak to - the federal Chemical Safety Board about safety problems at the Bayer CropScience plant in Institute.

The board announced Friday it has rescheduled a public meeting on the August explosion and fire that killed two Bayer workers.

Board members set the meeting for April 23.

The announcement comes after the board called off a previous meeting, which had been scheduled for later this month, under pressure from Bayer to keep details of the board's investigation from the public.

"This was a serious accident, which claimed the lives of two workers and had a significant impact on the surrounding community," said board Chairman John Besland.

The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at the West Virginia State University Wilson Building Multipurpose Room on the Institute campus.

Read more in the Sustained Outrage blog.

For more political news, click here.  

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Kanawha Valley residents will get a chance to hear from - and speak to - the federal Chemical Safety Board about safety problems at the Bayer CropScience plant in Institute.

The board announced Friday it has rescheduled a public meeting on the August explosion and fire that killed two Bayer workers.

Board members set the meeting for April 23.

The announcement comes after the board called off a previous meeting, which had been scheduled for later this month, under pressure from Bayer to keep details of the board's investigation from the public.

"This was a serious accident, which claimed the lives of two workers and had a significant impact on the surrounding community," said board Chairman John Besland.

The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at the West Virginia State University Wilson Building Multipurpose Room on the Institute campus.

Following the presentation of the board's preliminary findings, a panel of outside witnesses will be invited to speak on issues related to the accident, the board said in a news release.

"We are pleased to know that the CSB has rescheduled the meeting and look forward to expressing our comments in hopes of informing the remainder of the investigation," said Maya Nye, a leader of the group People Concerned About MIC.

Tom Dover, a Bayer spokesman, said the company would also attend the meeting.

The board is an independent federal agency that investigates industrial accidents and recommends reforms. Board investigators don't issue citations or fines.

Just one day after the deadly Aug. 28 explosion at Bayer, Bresland promised a broad investigation of what caused the fire, emergency response failings by Bayer and other plant safety issues.

But Bayer objected to a planned public meeting after board investigators began looking into the potentially unsafe location of a methyl isocyanate tank within 50 to 75 feet of the explosion site. Company lawyers cited an obscure Coast Guard rule they said prohibited the disclosure of such information.

Board members initially backed off, canceling the public meeting. Now, Bresland says the board is going to go ahead with the meeting, but will run its report by the Coast Guard first to ensure that any confidential information is protected.

The April 23 meeting is free and open to the public. Pre-registration is not required, but to assure adequate seating, the board is encouraging those who plan to attend to pre-register by e-mailing their names and affiliations to ba...@csb.gov by April 10.

Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kw...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1702.