An Astoria cannabis business was fined $5,300 for a series of workplace safety violations related to a butane-fueled explosion last fall that landed one man in a Portland burn unit.

Oregon OSHA cited Higher Level Concentrates for failing to ventilate the building, failing to have an adequate electrical system and failing to obtain city permits.

The company also didn't notify Oregon OSHA of the hospitalization as required. William "Chris" West, who was in the building at the time of the blast, was admitted to the Legacy Oregon Burn Center in Portland. West is a partner in the company and Jason Oei is a manager, according to OSHA records.

R. Bruce Dusterhoff, an attorney for West and Oei, didn't reply to an email Monday seeking comment on OSHA's findings and fines.

Oei and West have a pending application with the Oregon Liquor Control Commission for a cannabis processor license, said Mark Pettinger, a spokesman for the agency, which regulates recreational marijuana. The Oregon Health Authority, which oversees medical marijuana, said Higher Level Concentrates also has a pending application for registration as a medical cannabis processing site.

Jonathan Modie, a health authority spokesman, said the agency is waiting for the Astoria fire marshal investigation before it can determine whether any rules were broken. Astoria Fire Chief Ted Ames said the fire investigation was finished months ago, but the report hasn't been released because it is part of an ongoing criminal investigation into the blast.

The fine, issued last week, represents the latest workplace safety-related sanction imposed by the state on a legal cannabis business.

Three others have been cited for violations ranging from failing to provide workers with state-mandated pesticide handler training and protective gear to failing to have emergency eye wash stations near areas where workers handle hazardous materials. The state imposed a total of $1,020 fines on those businesses.

In the case of Higher Level Concentrates, OSHA records show employees used an "open loop" system to manufacture hash oil. Those systems are considered extremely dangerous because butane can quickly fill a space and a spark from something as ordinary as a pilot light can ignite a fireball.

According to the state's report, fire officials found between 200 to 300 punctured canisters of butane, a highly explosive gas, at the scene of the blast.

Jason Magley, a construction worker in the building when it exploded, filed a lawsuit earlier this year, alleging the company failed to keep butane from filling the room. His suit alleges that West handled butane while Oei dabbed, a technique used to consume cannabis oil.

According to a description of the explosion in OSHA's report, dabbing sparked the blast.

For years, butane hash oil production was unregulated and underground, carried out by home producers who often misunderstood or underestimated the risks. The gas, a cheap and flammable solvent, is used to extract tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, from marijuana flowers and leaves.

-- Noelle Crombie

503-276-7184; @noellecrombie