ConAgra pays $106,000 to settle workplace safety violations in deadly NC snack plant blast

ConAgra pays NC fines for plant blast violations

RALEIGH, N.C. — The owner of a North Carolina snack plant where four workers died after a natural gas explosion last June will pay $106,000 to settle workplace safety violations.

The state Labor Department says ConAgra Foods Inc. agreed to the settlement for citations that mainly involved failing to provide a workplace free of recognized hazards.

More than 70 people were hurt in the explosion that collapsed part of the roof at the plant, which made Slim Jim meat snacks.

The fines agreed to on Tuesday are about 20 percent less than the penalties originally assessed last month.

The state has also fined a subcontractor hired to install a water heater at the plant $58,000 for similar violations. The citations against Energy Systems Analysts Inc. are still pending.