Chambliss Stands up for Sugar Workers-Media Spins it Again....

Opponents of Saxby Chambliss, the United States Senator from Georgia have created a mythical tale surrounding a very tragic event. On February 7th, 2008, a silo at Imperial Sugar company exploded ultimately killing 14 and leaving near three dozen others severely injured. The OSHA findings have shown that the explosion was caused when a bucket broke, causing a spark which ignited the combustible sugar dust in the bottom of the Silo.

When the Senate held hearings in July of this year, Sen. Chambliss asked some very pointed questions to the man who was in charge of Safety for Imperial Sugar, Graham H. Graham. According to Graham's testimony, he had implemented many changes in recent months because he found the conditions to be dangerous. He also testified that after the explosion he was no longer invited to attend meetings concerning the investigation.

The Liberal local media and their buddies at the DailyKos, would have you believe that Graham was a whistle blower. Only problem is he Never actually blew the Whistle. He didn't go to the Press and demand the plant be shut down. Hell, he didn't even go to Imperial Sugar and demand it be shut down. He's not a Whistle blower, he's a guy that was in charge of the safety of hundreds of people, who didn't get the job done.

Chambliss was criticized by the local media and others for his tough questioning of Graham H. Graham. Some even falsely reported Chambliss had received $1000 from an Imperial Sugar Pac.

Chambliss comes to his own defense with an Op-ed in Savanna Morning News

I stand with employees and families of Imperial Sugar who have had a life-changing experience.

On Feb. 7 of this year, our coastal community experienced a great tragedy when an explosion occurred at the Imperial Sugar refinery in Port Wentworth. Thirteen lives were lost, dozens more were injured and families were changed forever.

Following the explosion, I visited with the families and employees and toured the exterior of the facility. It was indeed an emotional visit.

These types of accidents must be prevented, and that is why I have continued to seek answers on behalf of the families who were shaken by this terrible situation. It is why Sen. Johnny Isakson and I urged the U.S. Secretary of Labor and the interim executive of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board to fully investigate the accident and, if appropriate, assess penalties to any party determined to have violated The Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) Act.

OSHA is the only federal agency with the statutory authority to penalize the company for violations of workplace safety law.

The results of the OSHA investigation, recently released, determined that Imperial Sugar "egregiously and willfully" violated safety and health standards and a total of $8,777,000 in fines was issued to Imperial Sugar, making it the third largest fine to one company in the history of OSHA.

However, this is not the end of the story, and it is for this reason I asked tough questions during a hearing on Capitol Hill this past week examining the role of combustible dust, which is believed to have played a role in the accident.

During the hearing, an official of Imperial Sugar testified about conditions at the plant, and I asked him some tough and direct questions. This is an emotional and tragic issue, so it is baffling to me that my intense questioning created quite a stir in the media, with some making accusations that this newspaper has since had to correct for being false.

In fact, I did not receive a political contribution from Imperial Sugar in June 2008 as the paper reported.

Let me be clear, I was elected by the people of Georgia to stick up for them, and when injuries occur and lives are lost in a tragedy like the one that occurred in Port Wentworth, you bet I am going to ask harsh questions. The media needs to do the same. It infuriates me that this incident occurred and it cannot happen again.

During the hearing, I believed it was necessary to ask the witness, who held himself out to be in charge of safety at the plant and had described the conditions as "shocking, dirty, dangerous, and combustible," why he didn't recommend the plant be shut down and cleaned up. The company had adhered to every one of his recommendations to that point, so I wanted to know why he had not proposed to management to shut down the facility and make it safe.

Because of that question, some accused me of taking a "cheap shot," but the unfortunate reality here is people were seriously hurt and lives were lost when this situation clearly could have been prevented.

It is disappointing that members of the media chose to come down on the side of political cynicism. That is not what Georgians want, but unfortunately in this case, that is what they got.

I will continue to ask the tough questions and stand with the employees and the families who have had a life changing experience, and I will do everything I can to ensure a tragedy like this does not happen again.

So while Saxby Chambliss is trying to find out what really happened and how it could be prevented from happening again, the Liberal Media spins an Election Year tale that they hope will deliver their "happy ending".