Video footage of the explosion is missing because a contractor purposely disconnected equipment, Bayer officials testified to the House Energy and Commerce Committee in Washington, D.C.

Also, air safety monitors weren't working, and a protective mat was removed and destroyed after the explosion, officials said.

Testimony indicated the company mounted a campaign to marginalize the community.

"In the months following the explosion, Bayer launched a media and legal strategy to stem public disclosures about its actions," according to committee testimony.

The committee obtained an internal "community relations strategy" document in which Bayer's public relations firm recommended undermining local community groups and news outlets, according to a committee Web site.

It stated: "Our goal with People Concerned About MIC should be to marginalize them. Take a similar approach to The Charleston Gazette."

Maya Nye, spokeswoman for People Concerned About MIC, attended the committee hearing as an observer.

"It was shocking to hear what we already had anticipated," Nye said. "It sheds light on how Bayer has worked with the community the entire time they've been in Institute."

Nye, now a Charleston resident, lived a mile from the Bayer plant for 30 years.

She said the company argued after the explosion that the community wasn't in danger because air monitors didn't detect anything. She said it was fulfilling to see the committee force Bayer to publicly admit the monitors weren't working during the explosion.

The committee concluded the explosion's consequences could have eclipsed the 1984 disaster in Bhopal, India, had an overpressured water tank containing Methomyl hit the MIC tank.

A 1984 MIC leak in Bhopal killed 3,800 people and affected the health of 170,000 survivors, according to the Environmental Protection Agency's Web site.

Bayer representatives are expected to attend a U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board meeting April 23 in Institute. The board will present initial findings at that meeting.

Nye said media reports have indicated Bayer officials would not participate if community advocates are represented on a panel of witnesses directly after the public meeting. Nye is one of the scheduled panelists.

Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., also attended the Energy and Commerce Committee hearing in Washington D.C.

"The facts surrounding this incident are troubling, both for the communications breakdown, which limited the emergency response, and for the secrecy throughout portions of the investigation," Capito said in a news release.

Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., said the community's fears and suspicions were confirmed by the hearing.

"In its statement to the committee, Bayer acknowledged that it sought to curtail the Chemical Safety Board's investigation in an effort to limit negative publicity and to avoid public pressure concerning the company's storage of methyl isocyanate," Byrd said in a news release.

"The hearing also brought to light the company's considerable lapse in safety procedure, in equipment and in training, including inoperable safety locks, nonworking cameras and faulty air monitors. It is short of a miracle that more lives were not lost."

Bayer spokesman Tom Dover was not immediately available for comment at press time.

A recent Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation found Bayer CropScience risked its employees' safety and failed to address hazards in the methomyl unit at its Institute plant.

OSHA cited the company for 15 workplace safety and health violations in the explosion Aug. 28, 2008, that killed two workers, according to an OSHA news release.

Barry Withrow was killed in the explosion. Bill Oxley was injured and taken to the West Penn Hospital burn unit in Pittsburgh, where he died about six weeks later. Both men were 20-plus year veterans at the company.

The explosion occurred in a new tank primarily containing Methyl Isobutyl Ketone, a byproduct of Methomyl. Methomyl is used in Larvin, a pesticide and the main product in that section of the plant.