Nothing should come as a surprise to anyone reading this article...The lack of "real regulation" targeting the oil, gas and chemical industries on both the state and federal levels, the deliberate lack of "funding" for the "EPA" (or any other federal agency), and industry executives now routinely put in charge of "regulating" the industries they came from....whether it is the fossil fuel petrol billionaires or the pharmaceutical industry or Goldman Sachs executives being named Treasury Secretary from both Republican and Democratic administrations. This is Oligarchy....not Democracy. Only in an Oligarchy would Congress not even skip a beat in passing tax "reform" (designed exclusively to benefit the corporations and the very wealthy) even after the 4th largest city of Houston and its citizens were buried under massive flooding just a week prior.
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There has been so much coverage of this plant as a demonstration of lack of chemical safety. The NYT should consider the large amount of chemical production plants between Corpus Christi and the Sabine River that did not explode. For those who understand the the number of facilities that did not explode versus the one that did, your addiction to the Arkema plant is ridiculous. This is not to say the Akrema plant explosions are not a problem, to be fixed, but to say Arkema is not proof of systematic neglect and wrong doing.
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As a longtime research scientist I used to work for years with Arkema's and other brands of peroxides. People like me usually kept small amounts in our lab refrigerators. We were doing our utmost to make the refrigeration safe, even in the case of overnight power loss. It boggles my mind how a commercial manufacturing plant like the one at Crosby could be run like that. It would be obvious to any professional that loss of power is going to result in overheating and explosion. With all widely known dangers related to peroxides, the equipment, safety rules, running the plant etc. struck me as totally unprofessional. It doesn't matter what kind of regulations were or weren't in place in the years past. And now I hope our federal administration is going to make an exception for regulating chemical plants and storage facilities from their war on regulations in general.
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It doesn`t reveal a flaw in regulations. It just reveals a flaw. Private industry will fix the flaw as they don`t want liability down the road. Government regulations will force them to put solutions in place for a CAT-7 storm, which doesn`t exist, and eventually drive them out of business, further raising prices for consumers. This is not rocket science.
That's one option.
Another would be to build your chemical plant outside of a 1,000 year flood plain. Also not rocket science.
Another would be to build your chemical plant outside of a 1,000 year flood plain. Also not rocket science.
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This is what happens when corporations are people. Only in deeply red Texas, do the cities of West and Crosby compete for who can release the most volatile chemicals into the atmosphere. Welcome to the Dumb and Dumber Olympics. I visited Arkema over the weekend. National Guardsmen were bravely breathing in noxious fumes and protecting the Plant from incoming traffic, while Arkema employees enjoyed the Labor Day holidays off. Residents had already returned home, possibly earlier than mandated, and were in their front yards tending to their cattle and throwing out mildewed couches. Flooded cars remained in ditches with airbags deployed. Nothing prepares you for how close these residences are to the Plant, it's almost shocking for those not familiar with Houston's lack of zoning restrictions. Arkema declined to release a Tier II chemical list citing terrorism, but I'm sure it will all work out. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn have our backs and the free market rules!
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It is really shameful that this plant did not do more to address potential hazards from flooding. I think the situation badly needs to be investigated, fines levied if necessary and new regulations put in place to prevent further disasters. However, I am not looking for much action along these lines from the Federal government with President Trump in charge, since he apparently thinks all businessmen are good and do not need any regulations. Maybe some civil suits by affected citizens might be appropriate?
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And in the face of this the trump administration wants to gut federal safety regulations and those for clean air & water.
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But I thought we are supposed to cut the regulation as per Republicans and everything takes care of itself. Republicans are unbelievable.
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The new EPA under Pruitt, letting sites self police and have complete disregard for the public. Not even requiring sites to list the hazardous products so that the public is kept in the dark about what chemicals are on site for the occasions when there is a release. What a travesty Scott Pruitt is.
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One other thought to add to my previous post: If you have a nuclear power plant near your city, all that spent fuel is just sitting there glowing in the dark of the onsite storage vaults. We have been luckier than Japan, but we have our own share of natural disasters that could change that. We are about to endure our second major hurricane strike on the US mainland in a month.
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The entire Texas Gulf Coast is riddled with petrochemical plants located in small towns like Crosby, Bay City, Texas City, Baytown, Port Lavaca, Seadrift and Corpus Christi. While it makes economic sense to locate near a port, these ports are and have always been in the eye of the storm so to speak, as some of the most damaging tropical storms and hurricanes have come ashore on or near them. Not to take into account the possibility of storm and flood damage, either from a surge or from upland flooding, is not only short sighted, it is near criminal. Unfortunately, our "heroes" (error intended) in Washington and Austin don't seem to take this seriously. After all, they don't live or work there, so it's not like they have skin in the game. What they have forgotten is they have our skin in the game, and they need to act like it.
And consider the local first responders - many of whom may be volunteers - they need to know what chemicals are in place, what sort of reactions to expect, and how to fight the ultimate fires and explosions. Some of these chemicals are explosive when spayed with water, or are mixed with other chemicals. If you aren't up front with these true heros, how are they to combat your fires? And at what cost of life?
And consider the local first responders - many of whom may be volunteers - they need to know what chemicals are in place, what sort of reactions to expect, and how to fight the ultimate fires and explosions. Some of these chemicals are explosive when spayed with water, or are mixed with other chemicals. If you aren't up front with these true heros, how are they to combat your fires? And at what cost of life?
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"Because of a gap in federal environmental laws long criticized by chemical safety experts, Arkema was not even required to address, in the emergency plans it submits to federal regulators, the risk posed by the volatile chemicals that overheated and set off fires....."
With Scott Pruit the 'secret agenda' EPA those, 'gaps' in environmental law are becoming canyons.
With Scott Pruit the 'secret agenda' EPA those, 'gaps' in environmental law are becoming canyons.
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The E.P.A. has said that air samples taken at the Crosby plant during the fires showed no immediate health danger. Yet a half mile away Jenessa Zeiler's animals perished, AND not from flood waters. Why? The E.P.A. has said that air samples taken at the Crosby plant during the fires showed no immediate health danger. It seems that there was...
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So does anyone expect this administration to do anything about this hazardous situation? Of course not. Trump has put the foxes in charge of all the relevant hen houses beginning with Pruitt who spent his time in Oklahoma suing the EPA.
The only solution to the myriad of problems facing our nation is to start at the top and work down. Mere firing is too good for some of these players. Someone should do serious jail time for dereliction of duty. Instead this administration dwells on our "Dreamers" to sacrifice. Maybe failure to provide for the common good would be a good place to start. A chemical plant in a flood plane surrounded by homes does not meet this simple specification.
The only solution to the myriad of problems facing our nation is to start at the top and work down. Mere firing is too good for some of these players. Someone should do serious jail time for dereliction of duty. Instead this administration dwells on our "Dreamers" to sacrifice. Maybe failure to provide for the common good would be a good place to start. A chemical plant in a flood plane surrounded by homes does not meet this simple specification.
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That be "plain", not "plane",the plain without wings. Organic peroxides are unstable and reactive. But under the Risk Management Program they are not listed since the runaway reactions which occurred were within the plant property, not outside the property. which is the jurisdiction of the RMP. Hazards within the property are under the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 covered by the Process Safety Management standard, whose aim it so protect workers. Once again, as always, nobody, absolutely nobody, has praised those workers who moved the reactive chemicals from a warehouse whose temperature was rising to refrigerated trailers at great risk to themselves.
The major issue is not more regulation, but education of environmentalists whose knowledge of science is either nonexistent or limited. Once that preliminary goal is accomplished, then review of preparedness may be in line.
The major issue is not more regulation, but education of environmentalists whose knowledge of science is either nonexistent or limited. Once that preliminary goal is accomplished, then review of preparedness may be in line.
There are all kinds of hazards around that nobody thinks about. The shipments by truck and rail to any midsize city and above is enough to cause a major disaster, yet these shipments happen every day: Gasoline, propane, acids, all sorts of gases used in industrial processes, chlorine used for pools, even everyday flour is explosive if mishandled. This does not count the military shipments that they don't tell anyone about. The bullets, bombs and missiles don't just magically appear at your local military base.
Much of the things we use in everyday life are made using manufacturing processes that require hazardous substances or processes. Think of it like a chainsaw, a useful and necessary thing if used with care and caution; an unholy mess if handled improperly.
Much of the things we use in everyday life are made using manufacturing processes that require hazardous substances or processes. Think of it like a chainsaw, a useful and necessary thing if used with care and caution; an unholy mess if handled improperly.
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This is why the Texas Good Old Boys and Girls want to get rid of that pesky EPA. They're tough. They can take breathing in the chemicals. Besides, what's a few deaths of "little" people?
It's simply incomprehensible. One of the largest cities in the world - their Houston - was underwater last week but there's no such thing as climate warming. They "take care of themselves and don't need the pesky government" yet notice how fast they had their hands out for OUR hard-earned taxpayer money. Governor Greg Abbot brags about the fact that he spent every day as attorney general of Texas suing OUR government. Those lawsuits were paid by US - average taxpayers - and the average taxpayers of Texas paid twice if they pay taxes. Stupid is not a strong enough word if we continue to allow this.
Grow up Good Old Texas Boys and Girls. Become a socially conscious state in The United States of America and start giving something back instead of robbing the rest of us of our human rights and money.
It's simply incomprehensible. One of the largest cities in the world - their Houston - was underwater last week but there's no such thing as climate warming. They "take care of themselves and don't need the pesky government" yet notice how fast they had their hands out for OUR hard-earned taxpayer money. Governor Greg Abbot brags about the fact that he spent every day as attorney general of Texas suing OUR government. Those lawsuits were paid by US - average taxpayers - and the average taxpayers of Texas paid twice if they pay taxes. Stupid is not a strong enough word if we continue to allow this.
Grow up Good Old Texas Boys and Girls. Become a socially conscious state in The United States of America and start giving something back instead of robbing the rest of us of our human rights and money.
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The hazards are easily identifiable. In my work with Chevron, almost every industrial process was subject to a PHA, Process Hazard Analysis, by groups of people with widely varied backgrounds, which examined almost every possible thing that could go wrong and the consequences of each. Offsite hazards were automatically multiplied by a factor of at least ten (i.e. the company would rather injure ten of its own employees than one "civilian"), not that it wants anyone to be injured.
Anything that is not stable in a static state (power off, valve closed, loss of normal conditions, etc.) is extremely dangerous because it is basically impossible to design a process which functions 100% of the time.
Provisions for cooling with liquid nitrogen or liquid carbon dioxide probably would have prevented this problem. The entire emergency cooling system could have been made self regulating without the need for electricity.
Anything that is not stable in a static state (power off, valve closed, loss of normal conditions, etc.) is extremely dangerous because it is basically impossible to design a process which functions 100% of the time.
Provisions for cooling with liquid nitrogen or liquid carbon dioxide probably would have prevented this problem. The entire emergency cooling system could have been made self regulating without the need for electricity.
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Regulations have a cost, yes. But not having regulations costs as much.
Unfortunately, freedom from regulations is a private benefit and a public cost, which is the way our country works these days.
Unfortunately, freedom from regulations is a private benefit and a public cost, which is the way our country works these days.
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