MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) -- A West Virginia chemical plant where three men died in a December explosion will fight violations issued against it last month.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration says it received notice last week that AL Solutions in New Cumberland plans to contest the 18 violations.
Sixteen were considered serious and one was labeled willful. One was minor.
OSHA says the titanium and zirconium recycler could have prevented the tragedy but instead exposed workers to unnecessary risks. It's proposed $154,000 in fines.
The accident remains under investigation by other agencies, including the U.S. Chemical Safety Board.
AL Solutions says it won't comment until all of those probes are complete.
The case now goes to the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, an independent agency that handles contested violations and penalties.
