Nearly 700 residents from Hippo district in Miyagi prefecture, just northeast of Fukushima, filed a claim Tuesday with a government arbitration office demanding that they be given the same compensation as residents of Fukushima.

The government’s basic compensation scheme only covers Fukushima residents, which critics say is an attempt to minimize costs.

The Hippo residents said some radiation levels in their area exceeded those in Fukushima towns. Hippo district is about 50 kilometres northwest of the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant.

They demanded that the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (Tepco), pay them an additional 70 million yen ($690,000) in damages.

Due to the huge costs of compensation and clean-up of the plant, Tepco has declared bankruptcy and is under state control. The compensation money paid by Tepco actually comes from the government.

Radiation levels in Hippo district are comparable to areas in Fukushima subject to voluntary evacuation, where residents are entitled to receive up to 720,000 yen ($7,000) for every child and pregnant woman, and up to 120,000 yen ($1,180) per adult. After months of negotiations, Tepco has agreed to pay Hippo residents about half the Fukushima amount.

Residents of areas just outside of Fukushima say they also face discrimination in legal protection. They say health checks, radiation monitoring and clean-up projects in most cases do not go beyond the prefectural border.

“Damages from the nuclear accident do not stop at the border. We hope that the compensation program is carried out in a way that reflects the reality of people’s lives,” said Koji Otani, a lawyer representing the residents.

Although the amount sought by each resident is small, the group hopes to be able to set a precedent, he said.

A massive earthquake and tsunami hit the Fukushima plant, knocking out its cooling systems and causing the cores of three reactors to melt and release radioactivity into the air and water. The radiation level in Hippo exceeded the annual limit for nuclear workers.

So far, Tepco has paid 2.3 trillion yen ($22.5 billion), about half of it to companies and business owners. That amount includes 1.6 million individual claims, mostly from voluntary evacuees. Because the amount of claims is expected to exceed the initial estimate of 3 trillion yen ($29 billion), the government has injected an additional 154 billion yen ($1.5 billion) into the compensation fund.

About 150,000 Fukushima residents are still displaced. Hundreds have filed claims seeking greater compensation.

Copyright © The Associated Press.

Wholesale natural gas prices have been climbing substantially from their record lows. Oil prices have only recently cooled slightly after reaching nearly $100 a barrel (WTI) earlier this year. That makes it that much more important to minimize costs to retail buyers, wherever possible.

But in a regulated system, profits for utilities must remain healthy too if we expect them to stay active in the market, according to a report by the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy.

“Regulators would be wise to put significant effort into scrutinizing all new investment made by the firms they regulate,” writes author Kent Fellows, Phd candidate in the university’s economics faculty, who adds that there is little room in the energy network for unnecessary costs.

The way that government agencies regulate pipelines in Canada appears to be increasing costs beyond where they need to be in order to fairly serve both utilities and customers. By relying on traditional rate-of-return regulation models, which calculate price-rates based on the regulated firm’s cost of capital (that is, how much it costs the company to finance its operations), regulators, including the National Energy Board and the Alberta Utilities Commission, reward firms for over-investing in their operations instead of reducing costs.

Utilities are motivated to prolong the period in which they can earn a return on their capital, since it is one of the few opportunities they have to increase profits under the widely used rate-of-return regulatory model. That results in utilities keeping assets on the books — and paying for them — longer than they might otherwise need to. The end result is a distortion of the decisions made by regulated firms and, ultimately, higher prices for consumers.

Regulators that take a passive role in setting the rate of return for their industries, ironically, are likely to see their idleness pay off. Firms with a freer hand will seek to accelerate the depreciation of capital assets, reducing costs more quickly. The result is that consumers pay more in the short term, but substantially less over the long term.

Click here to read: Not so fast: How slower utilities regulation can reduce prices and increase profits.

The revamped interface also provides new navigational aids and formatting controls which make it easier to rearrange data.

The software suite from HighJump Software also has enhancements to its lot tracing functions, including new reporting tools that offer greater visibility to inventories during product recalls, and features that make it easier to process returns accurately.

Also part of the suite is an expanded portfolio of configurable voice solutions, including distribution voice-enabled workflow for areas such as picking, receiving and replenishment.

While the system has been configured to run on Windows 64-bit servers and thereby handle larger amounts of data better than previous versions, the Minneapolis, Minnesota-based company says it has also performed the engineering required to reduce the bandwidth demands the software places on the server by up to 75 percent.

Other code enhancements means that now users can access the software with any web browser, and not just Internet Explorer.

Over 375 shipping containers full of military supplies remain stranded at Kandahar Airfield nearly 18 months after Canada’s withdrawal from the war-torn province, and almost two years since combat operations ceased.

National Defence says the material is considered low priority and that all high-value and sensitive equipment has been returned to Canada.

A spokeswoman for the country’s operational command, Captain Jennifer Stadnyk, said certification of as many as 150 of the containers has expired and the technical assistance team will have to access whether they can still meet the standards set out by international shipping companies.

Defence sources said if the containers don’t pass, the military will have to find a way to dispose of the materiel.

The seemingly endless delay in repatriation of the containers, which were supposed to travel overland, was brought on by the extended closure of the Afghan border with Pakistan.

It has turned into a long, costly logistics nightmare for the military, which had intended to have everything home to fully re-equip and refurbish the army.

The equipment includes tires, spare parts, tents and other gear, and officials say their absence does not directly impede the army’s regeneration.

Last fall documents obtained by The Canadian Press under access-to-information legislation showed the Canadian government has faced increased withdrawal costs because the containers still have to be stored and guarded.

Pakistan cut off NATO’s supply lines through its country in November 2011 after a US air raid mistakenly killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, and the border remained shut until July 2012.

In winding up Canada’s five-year involvement in Kandahar, the military funneled its gear into two streams.

The first was an air bridge that saw Canadian C-17s and rented transports fly sensitive equipment and vehicles out to a friendly port, where it was loaded on cargo ships bound for Canada. The second route was to drive non-sensitive material over land through Pakistan, where it was loaded on a cargo ship in the port of Karachi.

When the Pakistan border shut, only 186 of the estimated 632 containers destined for overland transport had made it back to Canada. Of those, a significant number were pilfered from.

The documents show an average loss rate among the containers of 27 percent. Thieves who pried open the metal containers stole the contents, replaced them with sandbags and weights, and resealed the containers.

The Safe Food for Canadians Action Plan was unveiled on May 17. The plan will strengthen food safety rules, improve inspection, renew commitment to service and provide more information for consumers.

Through the action plan the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) will launch a number of significant food safety enhancements over the next two years, says the federal government.

Most notably, the CFIA will work with consumer groups and industry to develop new regulations that will bring into force the Safe Food for Canadians Act, passed in November 2012.

As a first step, the CFIA is strengthening some of its beef safety rules and has implemented new mandatory requirements that will strengthen the control of E. coli in federally registered beef plants.

Requirements can be found in the CFIA’s, Meat and Poultry Products Manual. In the manual, the Policy on the Control of E. coli O157:H7/NM Contamination in Raw Beef Products says its purpose is:

• to provide clear guidance to industry and inspection staff on the measures required to control Escherichia coli O157:H7/NM in raw beef products; and
• to reflect the risk-based approach taken by the CFIA to address the risk posed by this pathogen.

Tenderized cuts

Also, by July 2, 2013, federally registered plants that produce mechanically tenderized beef cuts, such as steaks or roasts, will be required to label those products as tenderized and with cooking instructions.

While these actions are specific to federally registered plants, Health Canada also intends to propose broader mandatory labels to identify beef that has been mechanically tenderized at retail outlets like supermarkets. This voluntary practice has been in place since 2012.

This spring, the CFIA will launch a review of the food regulations in Canada that will need to be revised in order to bring the Safe Food for Canadians Act into force. The government says it expects this process to take up to two years.

Active consumer and stakeholder engagement in the process will be important to the success of efforts to bring the new legislation into force. Consumer groups and stakeholders will have that opportunity at an upcoming food safety regulatory forum in June.

According to GM, the money will be used to build a “logistics optimization centre” at its Lansing Grand River plant.

The 400,000-square-foot building will be located adjacent to the site’s automotive assembly plant, allowing the automaker to sequence and assemble parts on site.

“This project is the latest example of how we’re doing business differently in GM today,” GM North America manufacturing manager Christine Sitek said in a statement.

“We’ve developed an innovative material strategy that increases efficiency and improves quality to benefit our customers, employees and the bottom line.”

This investment will save money and improve efficiency by leveraging available plant real estate and streamlining the flow of materials, GM said.

It is also aimed at reducing transportation times and improved quality by reducing handling.

The project is expected to create approximately 200 jobs at the plant, which is home to Cadillac’s ATS and CTS models.

The Pacific Alliance was formed by Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru in 2011 and Canada took a spot on the sidelines the next year, along with several other countries as observers.

This week, alliance leaders will meet in Cali, Colombia, and be joined by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, as well as leaders from other observer nations.

“This will be the first time the prime minister has had the opportunity to participate in this forum, to experience the forum, to see what it has to offer,” said Andrew MacDougall, a spokesman for the prime minister.

The goal of the nascent alliance is to tear down what economic borders remain between their countries, creating an integrated market to rival and compete both internationally and regionally with that of Mercosur, the trading bloc created in 1991 by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Alliance countries are already an economic powerhouse: according to the World Trade Organization, together they exported about $534 billion in 2011, compared to about $355 billion from Mercosur.

Bilateral merchandise trade between Canada and the four alliance countries totalled $39 billion in 2012, compared with $9.7 billion the year before in trade with Mercosur.

The Conservative government declared a stronger relationship with the Americas as a foreign policy priority in 2007 and has been wooing them ever since, ramping up its enthusiasm for ties with the region since its economies sailed through the global economic downturn in 2008.

But Canada already has free trade agreements with all four alliance countries and is involved in negotiations for the much broader Trans Pacific Partnership, which includes them as well as Asian countries, New Zealand and the US.

That’s raised questions about why joining this new alliance is something that Canada needs and has the resources to tackle.

Even pro-trade Tories raised this question at recent hearings on the alliance in the House of Commons.

“Where I’m coming from is that we already have relationships with all of these countries,” said Tory MP Ed Holder in March. “We don’t need to do this, but maybe we do. What I’m looking for is the argument for Canada to do more than just sit at the table and watch.”

Harper’s participation in the meeting is about figuring that out, said MacDougall.

“From our perspective, there is no point picking one over the other, it’s a question of pursuing on all avenues and all fronts,” MacDougall said. “We do have strong relationships with the four original members, and with some of the other observer countries so it makes sense for us to explore more ways to further strengthen that relationship while we’re also pressing on the Trans Pacific Partnership, which includes another set of countries.”

Among the issues being explored by the alliance are the removal of visa requirements for is members, something that would pose a challenge to Canada’s ongoing efforts to tighten up borders by imposing visa restrictions on many countries, including those in the alliance.

The alliance also wants to strengthen security co-operation.

Canada has tried this once before with Mexico, in the form of the security and prosperity partnership with the US, a deal that collapsed in 2009 to be replaced by the bilateral Beyond the Border plan with just the US.

Canada’s relationship with the Americas has been framed mostly in economic terms, though Canada insists part of its Americas strategy is also increasing democratic governance and security in the region.

©The Canadian Press

The mills in Hunan province’s Youxian county were ordered to suspend business and recall their products after samples showed excessive levels of cadmium, according to an official notice issued by the county government.

It said the mills had been operating legally and sourced their rice from local farmers.

The announcement followed reports over the weekend that government inspectors discovered that 44.4 per cent of rice and rice products tested this year in the southern city of Guangzhou in Guangdong province showed high levels of cadmium. The carcinogenic metal can seriously damage the kidneys and cause other health problems.

Hunan is a heavily agricultural province that borders on Guangdong, although it wasn’t clear if there was a direct connection between the mills and Guangzhou’s tainted rice.

While investigations are continuing, cadmium is believed to have entered the rice from soil polluted with heavy metals. Air and soil pollution are chronic problems in China, caused by poor regulation of industrial emissions and heavy dependence on coal to generate electricity.

China’s food supply also suffers from deliberate faking or adulterating by unscrupulous operators, leading to occasional public panic over products from infant formula to cooking oil and a deep lack of trust in the government’s ability to ensure food safety.

In one of the worst scandals, at least six babies died and 300,000 became sick in 2008 after being fed milk powder tainted with the industrial chemical melamine, which was illegally added to watered-down dairy products to make their protein content appear normal.

Rescuers were taking care to avoid setting off additional explosions as they searched the site of the explosion in Shandong province’s Caofan township, the China News Service said.

The company website said the factory, run by the Baoli group, manufactures 10,000 tons of industrial explosives annually.

The force of the blast flung broken glass, smashed concrete and other debris as far as 200 metres, reports said.

Walls in outlying buildings were flattened and glass shattered.

A total of 34 people were inside the factory at the time of the blast, and survivors were rushed to a hospital.

The cause of the blast and condition of those injured were not immediately known.

A government spokesman for the surrounding city of Zhangqiu said a full accounting of the dead and injured was being compiled and would be released.

Like many Chinese bureaucrats, he would only give his surname, Cao.

China has sought to tighten access to explosives used for quarrying following a series of attacks by people using homemade bombs.

However, safety rules are often ignored and industrial accidents remain common.

Canadian Pacific Railway spokesperson Andy Cummings says the trains were conducting yard operations east of Medicine Hat on Saturday when the collision occurred.

Cummings says four cars derailed but none was carrying hazardous commodities.

He says it wasn’t a head-on collision, and that one of the trains made contact with the other.

The Transportation Safety Board says it is sending a team to investigate.

Cummings says the conductor has since been released from hospital.

He couldn’t immediately say what effect the interruption would have on the railway’s operations, but noted that there was capacity to re-route trains around the area.

As such, your operation has not only examined every possible entry point for contamination, but it also actively manages the prevention of physical, biological and chemical hazards.

In essence, your company is doing everything it can to prevent health risks and costly food recalls that could last for decades when it comes to damage to your brand reputation. But what about your suppliers? In particular, how does your uniform rental company measure up when it comes to food safety?

If you do your research, you might be surprised to learn that there continues to be a lag in the uniform rental industry, as far as best practices go in food safety. By and large, uniform rental services – even the big brands – have been slow to realize the full extent of the issue: that any contaminant is enough to compromise food products, and that such hazards can come from anywhere in the uniform rental service chain, if the proper care isn’t taken.

Most uniform companies do include food safety processes in their offerings. They recognize that safety is important enough to use the right laundering chemicals or to separate food-processing garments from other uniforms in their plant. But these measures are just minimum requirements, according to international safety standards. There is a bigger picture.

Food safety checklist for your uniform supplier

If you’re unsure as to where your uniform rental supplier stands on the food safety continuum, here are three features you should look for:

1. ISO registration

In addition to having ISO 9001 certification, which deals with quality management systems, you should look for ISO 22000:2005. As you probably know, ISO 22000 certifies food safety management systems.

For uniform rental companies, this standard ensures everyone on the premises, not just the delivery personnel, is trained, and that everyone is communicating regularly to ensure processes are followed consistently.

Another important feature of ISO 22000:2005 certification is that it ensures management’s commitment to food safety as a whole, and not just clean clothes. This element matters because, as you know, it’s not enough to simply manage the mechanical part of the process, there’s a human element that also needs to be addressed. Everyone needs to be aware and trained about food safety.

2. Traceable and verified processes

In addition to compliance with international standards, you should look for a uniform rental supplier who actively documents every step of their process, from pick up to delivery.

This is an important feature because it allows your team to ensure the uniform rental company is doing what its says it is doing. It also assures both parties that there is a paper trail should any improvements need to be made or any issues arise in the future.

3. Validated claims

Finally, you should ensure that your uniform rental company is being third-party audited against a recognized standard. This means that certification can be revoked if the supplier is not complying – an important measure for ensuring the same constant vigilance that you demonstrate in your business.

As an added benefit, a third-party audit will reduce your company’s headache of having to audit the supplier yourself.

Next steps?

If you have gone through this checklist and realize that your uniform rental company doesn’t measure up, call and talk to them about your expectations. As a customer – especially one in the food industry – you should feel empowered to demand these features from your uniform supplier.  After all, food safety is that important.

Chad Laframboise is Operations manager at Northern Uniform, the first uniform rental company in North America to be ISO 22000:2005 certified. Contact him at Chad@NorthernUniform.com

MarketsandMarkets, a U.S.-based global market research and consulting company, says the global gluten-free market is projected to reach US$6.2 billion in five years.

The report is called Gluten-Free Products Market By Type (Bakery & Confectionery, Snacks, Breakfast Cereals, Baking Mixes & Flour, Meat & Poultry Products), Sales Channel (Natural & Conventional) & Geography — Global Trends & Forecasts To 2018.

MarketsandMarkets says the report defines and segments the global gluten-free product market with analysis and forecasting of the global revenue and volume for gluten-free products.

The report also identifies the driving and restraining factors for the global gluten-free product market. The market is segmented and revenue is forecasted on the basis of major regions such as North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World (ROW).

The largest volume share in the sector are gluten-free bakery and confectionery products, which accounted for about 46 per cent, followed by gluten-free snacks that contributed about 20 per cent in the gluten-free market.

North America contributed to about 59 per cent share in the global gluten-free product market.

The highest consumption of gluten-free product in the global market was through conventional sales channels. Chain stores have become a preferred retail channel for gluten-free products, and there has been growth in the sales and assortment carried by the supermarkets and mass merchandisers.

The demand for new products and a variety of gluten-free products is increasing in the market. The existing companies are actively introducing new products with different ingredients and flavours, demonstrating that they are attuned to the needs of their consumers.

Developments in the global gluten-free products market have been growing globally, but it has been growing at a higher pace in North America and Europe. Companies such as Hain Celestial Inc. (U.S.), General Mills Inc. (U.S.), Dr. Schar (Italy), Amys Kitchen Inc. (U.S.), and Boulders Brand Inc. (U.S), are involved in market dynamics.

Celiac disease

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder triggered by the consumption of gluten that leads to extensive damage in the small intestine of genetically susceptible people. There is no medication available except a gluten-free diet for this disorder.

The increasing number of celiac patients, gluten intolerance and health-conscious consumers has increased the demand for gluten-free products. The gluten-free products market is experiencing a double-digit growth.

The most important factor behind buying more gluten-free food products is that consumers consider them healthier than conventional products.

Other important factors are growing retail presence and continual improvements in new gluten-free products development.

One of the major restraints of the gluten-free products market is a lack of awareness. Many consumers do not know the difference between an allergy and intolerance. Furthermore, many consumers are either misdiagnosed or undiagnosed entirely for celiac disease.

Mike Doherty, a partner at Cambridge, Ontario-based Demand Clarity Inc, and André Martin, vice-president of flowcasting for JDA Software Group Inc in Scottsdale, Arizona, presented those figures at a technology session held during the 2013 Supply Chain Canada conference.

The pair told the audience in Mississauga, Ontario that although the out-of-stock figure hasn’t changed in decades, there is no reason for that situation to continue. They believe that by using the flowcasting methodology, the out-of-stock number can be reduced to zero (or near zero).

Flowcasting collects data at the retail point-of-sale (POS) and uses it exclusively as the sole source information throughout the entire supply chain. Rather than having multiple forecasts (one compiled by the retailer, one by the distributor, one by the manufacturer, etc), the flowcasting process sends one POS forecast throughout the entire supply chain.

Doherty and Martin provide a more complete explanation of flowcasting, and discuss the advantages it brings and the challenges it presents in the video below.

To see more MM&D original videos click here for the full list.

In addition to the flowcasting session, delegates to the conference had the opportunity to listen to a wide variety of industry experts including:

• Robert Vallender, head of physical logistics CO-Supply Chain, at Nestec Ltd, who spoke about the some of the security challenges Nestlé has faced—including having thieves using fake documents to pick up loads from the company’s DCs and steal them—the need to alter recipes in order to adapt each product to the tastes of the geographical market, and how today’s VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world market keeps adding demands onto supply chains.
• Derrick Lio, operations manager for Lexmark Canada Inc, who explained how the printer manufacturer stopped dealing with over 20 different carriers and consolidated all of its transportation needs with one company —Ryder Canada—and now benefits from simplified, standardized reporting, and improved capacity.
• Bryan Tremblay, vice-president of supply chain and logistics at The Source, whose presentation focused on how the electronics retailer incorporates its bricks-and mortar store into its e-commerce distribution network, and how the company manages to serve both its retail and online customers out of one common, centralized distribution centre.
• Douglas Harrison, chief operating officer at Day & Ross Transportation Group, who told the audience how the transportation company is evolving its corporate culure and its approach to business with the help of coaches and industrial psychologists. He also explained how the company has moved away from the RFP processes and now prefers to use RFIs (requests for information) when negotiating new contracts.
• Aaron Hutcherson, vice-president of global supply chain planning and procurement at McCain Foods Ltd, who shared with the audience the lessons his company learned when McCain’s supply chain couldn’t support the surprisingly successful launch of a new food product overseas, and how subsequent launches into new markets now take the supply chain into greater consideration.

For more Supply Chain Canada coverage, see the coming May-June issue of MM&D magazine.

The small First Nation of Hartley Bay says the crew showed up uninvited to carry out work on a project that has not been approved—and that the Gitga’at continue to oppose.

Coun. Marven Robinson says Calgary-based Enbridge, the proponent of the 1,600-kilometre pipeline and oil tanker port, has “screwed-up” relations with First Nations and continues to do so.

Consultation with native bands has been a major stumbling block for the $6-billion project that would connect the Alberta oil sands to Asian markets.

Many in the industry are hopeful that a surprise Liberal victory in B.C.’s provincial election this week renews hope that the much-maligned project may yet go ahead.

The federal review panel weighing the project will begin hearing final arguments next month in Terrace, and must issue its report to the federal government by the end of the year.

PSA Peugeot Citroen said it had signed an agreement with the CGT union to end the strike, which started in January.

The CGT called the strike “suspended.”

Peugeot said around 130 of the plant’s 2,500 workers have been on strike since Jan. 16.

France’s largest automaker is cutting 8,000 jobs and has slated the Aulnay-sous-Bois factory as it struggles to compete in Europe’s stagnant car market.

While unions and the government have called the plan unacceptable, the plant looks likely to shut next year.

CGT representative Jean-Pierre Mercier told French TV that “the fight is far from over.”

The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) has officially authorized the passage of vessels up to 44m wide to navigate the Quebec-Montreal section of the St Lawrence. This means the 6,000 TEU post-Panamax ships are now permitted in the channel. The previous limit had been 32m wide.

The decision was made based on the results of a study commissioned by the Montreal Port Authority (MPA) and conducted by Transport Canada, the Laurentian Pilotage Authority, the Corporation of Central St Lawrence Pilots and the CCG.

MPA president and CEO Sylvie Vachon explained what the decision will mean for the port.

Shipping lines, no matter what type of cargo they carry, will be able to substantially increase capacity on their services to Montreal, which will inevitably lead to benefits for the port’s broad customer base.”

The Fair Labour Association says Apple’s largest supplier, Foxconn, has made all recommended improvements to working conditions that were due by the end of December.

The group says there have been “notable increases” in workers’ participation in union committees. Foxconn has reduced working hours, though not enough to comply with the Chinese legal limit of 49 hours per week. Foxconn is scheduled to do that by July.

Foxconn is also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Apple joined the Fair Labor Association in January 2012.

©The Associated Press

As part of the 15th annual Gas Tax Honesty Day, the federation encourages citizens to lobby against charging tax-on-tax for gasoline and diesel.

Alberta director Derek Fildebrandt says even without a provincial sales tax, residents of the province pay roughly $80 million a year or $15 per fill-up.

Fildebrandt says citizens must also keep things from getting worse by keeping provinces and municipalities from continually looking to new or higher gas taxes as a quick fix for pet projects.

Check out the report here.

©The Canadian Press

The agency says in volume terms, wholesale sales were up 0.1% in March.

In March, four of seven subsectors reported gains, accounting for about two-thirds of wholesale sales.

Sales in the motor vehicle and parts subsector rose 2% to $8.5 billion in March, its second consecutive increase.

Wholesale sales rose in Ontario, Saskatchewan and BC.

The gains, though, were offset by drops in the other provinces, including a 3.5% sales decline in Alberta.

©The Canadian Press

They ruled out a wide number of others, from a rail car on site loaded with fertilizer to someone smoking.

But they could not say with certainty what caused the April 17 fire inside the seed and fertilizer building at West Fertilizer Co., in West, a tiny Texas town previously known for its Czech bakeries and heritage.

Kelly Kistner, the Texas assistant state fire marshal, said the fire caused stored ammonium nitrate to change states, while also causing debris in the wooden building to begin to fall.

The blast was actually two explosions: a small one that occurred about 20 minutes after the fire was reported, followed by a larger one a split second later, Kistner said.

About 28 to 34 tons of ammonium nitrate stored in the plant exploded.

Another 20 to 30 tons stored on site, along with a rail car carrying 100 tons of ammonium nitrate, did not explode, officials said.

The power of the blast was equivalent to about 20,000 pounds of TNT.

Among the dead were 10 first responders and two people who had joined into fight the fire.

The blast registered as a small earthquake and left a crater 93 feet wide and 10 feet deep.

It destroyed an apartment building, homes and parts of schools nearby.

The golf cart was parked in the room where investigators believe the blast began, officials said.

The golf cart’s batteries hold a charge and when they fail, they can ignite the materials around them, officials said.

They found two pieces of the cart: a brake pad and the axle.

As part of their site investigation, officials tried to reconstruct part of one building on the plant site with debris and as much of the power systems as they could.

They were able to rule out a higher-voltage electrical system used at the plant.

Officials have ruled out the possibility that the blast was an act of terror, but not that it was a crime.

They refused to take questions on the arrest of Bryce Reed, a West paramedic who responded to the blast but was arrested weeks later with what authorities said were materials for a pipe bomb.

The Texas Rangers, a state investigative agency, and the local county sheriff’s office opened their own criminal investigation after his arrest.

Reed’s attorney has denied that his client had any role in the blast, and the McLennan County Sheriff’s Office said there was no evidence linking Reed to the explosion.

He has pleaded not guilty to the possession charge.

Ammonium nitrate is a chemical used as a fertilizer that also can be used as a cheap alternative to dynamite.

It was the chemical used in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

Rachel Moreno, a spokeswoman for the Texas State Fire Marshal’s Office, said the death toll had officially reached 15 with the determination by a local justice of the peace that an elderly man who died after being evacuated from the nursing home had been an explosion-related death.

The nursing home’s medical director previously had said the man died of his pre-existing ailments.