Judges orders Pennsylvania agency to produce inspection records related to chocolate plant blast
By MICHAEL RUBINKAM
Associated Press
Pennsylvania utility regulators must turn over inspection records to the National Transportation Safety Board as part of the federal investigation into a fatal explosion at a chocolate factory. A federal judge on Tuesday sided with the safety board in its dispute with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. The state agency had refused to share the inspection reports, citing a state law that makes them confidential. The judge gave utility regulators seven days to turn them over to the safety board. The March 2023 blast at the R.M. Palmer Co. plant in West Reading killed seven people. Investigators are looking at a pair of gas leaks as a possible cause.
