INSTITUTE, W.Va. (AP) - The U.S. Occupational and Health Administration has issued proposed fines totaling $143,000 against a West Virginia Bayer CropScience plant for an August 2008 explosion that killed two workers.

Thursday's proposed fines stem from 15 violations the federal safety agency issued against the Institute plant, including 13 serious violations and two repeat violations involving hazardous analysis.

An explosion in the plant's Methomyl Unit killed one worker immediately. The second suffered severe burns and died several weeks after the Aug. 28 blast.

The company has 15 days to contest the violations and fines.

Click here for complete coverage of the explosion, including a timeline of events and 911 calls.

Here is a statement from Nick Crosby, site manager at Bayer CropScience's Institute site:

“Our Institute site’s highest priority is the safety of our employees and the community. We remain saddened by the loss of two members of our site family in last summer’s tragic incident. Our own comprehensive internal investigation into the causes still is on-going. The methomyl unit will not be re-started until we are convinced we know the cause of the accident and have taken the action necessary to ensure the unit’s safe operation in the future.

“We have cooperated fully with OSHA in its investigation and have just received the agency’s proposed citations. We will be studying them thoroughly and dealing with them appropriately.

Our ultimate goal is to ensure we are operating our entire facility as safely as possible.”