See the Site of the Landfill Gas Blast

Broadrock Renewables could face fines and other sanctions following the early-morning explosion at a gas-extraction site on Tuesday, Building Inspector Ben Nascenzi said.

Last week, Nascenzi closed down the newer gas-collection system run by Broadrock at the Central Landfill over odor complaints and the discovery of broom handles and duct tape holding up and securing the pipes managed by the company.

Following that decision, Nascenzi said Broadrock representatives made an agreement with town officials to tell Nascenzi about planned repairs at the older facility.

"They have a notice of violation already issued because of the [earlier] gas extraction, and this is a violation of that notice, because they never notified me to come and approve the operation of this Caterpillar plant," explained Nascenzi. "That [concern over poor repairs] is what prompted me to shut down the other plants in the first place."

A tour of the blast zone found an 8-in. black PVC pipe suspended about 15 ft. in the air by other black PVC pipes and leading to the apparent junction with a larger 16-in. metal pipe.

The round connections had been separated, with one partially buried in the dirt.

A nearby fence was charred, and the metal pipe leading directly to the Landfill was shredded.

Two relief valves were threaded directly into the PVC pipe, and the connection was covered in silver heat tape.

[See more footage in the video above.]

Nascenzi said he couldn't understand why Broadrock workers would attach the pipes in such a way.

"The configurations don't make sense for the operation that they have," he explained.

Fire Chief Timothy McLaughlin said he believes the use of different-sized pipes could have contributed to the blast.

"This was the risk — when you're using straight gas coming from that Landfill, the risk is high, very very high for an explosion," explained McLaughlin. "It was certainly not external — this was internal as a result of the gas collection."

Read more about the Landfill blast:

Chafee Tours Landfill Blast Site

Officials: Explosion Likely Caused by Faulty Repair Work

Polisena: Broadrock Site a 'Tragedy Waiting to Happen'

Officials Concerned about Cyanide after Gas Line Explodes at Broadrock