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From: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (21 articles)
Date: Fri, 8 Sep 2017 07:51:35 -0400
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: B164AA6A-EC22-4E09-AA95-D476ECE8D0C1**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, September 8, 2017 at 7:51:21 AM
A membership benefit of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
All article summaries and tags are archived at http://pinboard.in/u:dchas
Table of Contents (21 articles)
SMALL FIRE DAMAGES MBL LAB
Tags: us_ma, laboratory, fire, response
HAZMAT SCARE AT U.S. NONWOVENS SENT EMPLOYEE RUNNING FOR EXIT
Tags: us_ky, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical
FIREFIGHTER RESPONDING TO WACKER CHEMICAL LEAK HOSPITALIZED
Tags: us_tn, industrial, fire, injury, unknown_chemical
USCG ASSESSING LOCAL CHEMICAL FACILITIES AHEAD OF HURRICANE IRMA LANDFALL
Tags: us_al, industrial, discovery, environmental
SAFETY WORKERS SICKENED BY FUMES SUE TEXAS CHEMICAL PLANT
Tags: us_tx, industrial, release, unknown_chemical, follow-up
KILLEEN COUNCILMAN CALLS FOR FORUM ON CHEMICAL PLANT
Tags: us_tx, industrial, discovery, response
EPA LAST INSPECTED FLOODED ARKEMA PLANT IN 2003
Tags: us_tx, industrial, follow-up, environmental
GOVERNMENT ILL-EQUIPPED TO MONITOR INDUSTRIAL PLANTS DAMAGED BY HURRICANE HARVEY
Tags: us_tx, industrial, follow-up, environmental
U.S. CHEMICAL RISK PROGRAM GETS MIXED REVIEW
Tags: us, public, discovery, enviromental
WHAT MADE ARKEMA‰??S PEROXIDES UNSTABLE IN HARVEY‰??S AFTERMATH?
Tags: us_tx, industrial, followup, enviromental, peroxide
EXPLOSION REPORTED IN WASIOJA
Tags: us_MN, public, explosion, injury, chlorine
LET CROSBY BE A LESSON: CHEMICAL PLANTS NEED TO REVEAL THEIR INVENTORIES
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, peroxide
CROSBY PLANT EXPLOSION PRODUCED 'STRANGE RESIDUE,' EXPERT CLAIMS
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, metals, toxics
TWO PEOPLE SUSTAINED MINOR THROAT IRRITATION DURING CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_NY, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical
FIRE DEPARTMENT RESPONDS TO CAR WASH AS CHEMICAL MIXTURE SENDS ONE TO THE HOSPITAL
Tags: us_CT, industrial, release, injury, bleach, oxygen
CHEMICAL SAFETY AUDIT LEADS TO NEW RULES IN LIED
Tags: us_NE, laboratory, discovery, environmental
FLINT HILLS OFFICIALS: CHEMICAL RELEASE AT EAST PLANT CONTAINED,
Tags: us_TX, industrial, release, response, petroleum
MANUFACTURERS SHARE CHEMICAL DATA WITH EPA TO MAKE SAFETY CASE
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental, solvent, toxics
PFAS CHEMICAL DISCOVERY DELAYS CONSTRUCTION OF DARWIN FLOOD RETENTION POND
Tags: Australia, public, discovery, environmental
IN HARVEY'S WAKE, CRITICS SEE BIG MONEY BEHIND LAX PETROCHEMICAL REPORTING
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, benzene, petroleum
CARPER PROBES EPA ON ARKEMA CHEMICAL PLANT, PROPOSED CHEMICAL SAFETY CUTS
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, peroxide
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SMALL FIRE DAMAGES MBL LAB
Tags: us_ma, laboratory, fire, response
WOODS HOLE ‰?? Firefighters were called to a small fire in a Marine Biological Laboratory building Thursday morning.
An alarm sounded at the Falmouth fire station at about 9 a.m. Thursday indicating a fire in laboratory‰??s three-story Marine Resources Center. The building contains laboratory space, marine life and ongoing experimental work so standard procedures, such as shutting down all gas and electricity to the full building, weren‰??t an option, said Falmouth Deputy Fire Chief Scott Thrasher.
‰??Their biggest concern was if we just killed the power to the building that they would lose marine life and experiments,‰?? Thrasher said.
Everyone had left the building by the time firefighters arrived. While searching the resources center, firefighters discovered a small fire on a workbench in one of the second floor labs. Some electrical equipment was on the bench, but the source of the fire is still under investigation.
An automatic sprinkler system directly above the bench kept damage to a minimum and firefighters used a small pump can to finish putting out the fire, Thrasher said.
The fire was contained to the laboratory, he said. Once it was out, the maintenance crew at Marine Biological Laboratory worked with firefighters to ventilate the building.
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HAZMAT SCARE AT U.S. NONWOVENS SENT EMPLOYEE RUNNING FOR EXIT
Tags: us_ky, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical
LUDLOW, Ky. ‰?? Fumes sent frightened employees hurrying out of an industrial plant Thursday, but there was no hazmat leak, a plant official said.
‰??The building just basically got filled full of smoke and started burning our eyes and stuff,‰?? said Blake Colbin, who just started working at the U.S. Nonwovens plant at 1 Sandbank Road two months ago.
‰??I left my phone, wallet, everything in there. I got out as quick as possible. Yeah, it was little scary,‰?? Colbin said.
The fumes were created in the making of a drain cleaner, warehouse manager Pete Kohlmorgen said. U.S. Nonwovens is known for making household cleaning products.
Kohlmorgen insisted it was safe.
‰??The product is not toxic. It‰??s not combustible. It‰??s not explosive. There was nothing that leaked onto the ground. Everything is completely, 100 percent contained,‰?? Kohlmorgen said.
A hazmat crew, two fire departments and the Kentucky EPA vouched for the safety inside the building.
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FIREFIGHTER RESPONDING TO WACKER CHEMICAL LEAK HOSPITALIZED
Tags: us_tn, industrial, fire, injury, unknown_chemical
CHARLESTON, Tenn. (WATE) ‰?? James Bradford of the Bradley County Sheriff‰??s Office says a firefighter responding to the Wacker chemical plant has been taken to a nearby hospital due to ‰??heat exhaustion.‰?? This after a second leak at the plant Thursday evening.
Bradley County EMA says because of a wind shift near the plant, residents living up to 1.5 miles south of Wacker should stay inside until notified otherwise.
As a precaution, residents in the area should not use their AC units.
Crews have closed Lauderdale Memorial Hwy between Hwy 11 and I-75.
Bill Toth, Director of Corporate Communications for Wacker could not answer when asked if there is a danger to the public.
Toth says they are busy ‰??mitigating the incident,‰?? and will release a statement later.
The Bradley County Sheriff‰??s Office released a statement about an explosion at the Wacker chemical plant in Charleston, Tennessee Wednesday afternoon around 4 p.m.
At approximately 4:00 p.m. an alleged explosion was reported tothe 911 Communications Center from residents around Wacker Polysilicon, located inCharleston, TN.Upon arrival, first-responders were able to determine a mechanical failure caused a plume of low-concentrated hydrochloric acid to form a cloud that was visible within a portion within the Charleston area.Students from Walker Valley High School students sheltered in place and CharlestonElementary School students were transported to Ocoee Middle School for pickup by parents. Additionally, residents within the Charleston area were advised to shelter in place and turn off H.V.A.C. systems to minimize exposure.Representatives from Wacker Polysilicon and area first-responders were able to evaluatethe incident in order to communicate the precautionary procedures to ensure the safety ofthe community.Earlier reports advised there were no injuries at the facility; however medical responderswere able to locate one patient at th!
e facility needing medical assistance. At this time weare unable to determine if the patien
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USCG ASSESSING LOCAL CHEMICAL FACILITIES AHEAD OF HURRICANE IRMA LANDFALL
Tags: us_al, industrial, discovery, environmental
MOBILE, AL (WALA) -
With the active hurricane season, FOX10 News Investigates took a closer look at the possibility of the chemical facilities in our area being impacted by potential hurricanes... and how that could put people's safety at risk.
While it seems Irma may be going to the Florida peninsula, the commander for the U.S. Coast Guard's (USCG) Mobile Sector told FOX10 News Investigates his teams have been going around to several chemical facilities from Panama City Beach to Bayou la Batre, to assess their ability to handle a major hurricane, just in case.
After Hurricane Harvey ripped through the Texas coast, huge fires broke out at a chemical plant northeast of Houston, when the facility was forced to shut down operations, and officials said units refrigerating the toxic chemicals were "compromised due to massive flooding."
Fifteen deputies were taken to the hospital for inhaling volatile chemical smoke, and a mandatory evacuation was put in place for all residents living with in a mile and a half of the facility.
Along the Mobile River, there are eight petrochemical storage facilities operating in close proximity to the downtown and Africatown communities.
---------------------------------------------
SAFETY WORKERS SICKENED BY FUMES SUE TEXAS CHEMICAL PLANT
Tags: us_tx, industrial, release, unknown_chemical, follow-up
Seven emergency workers filed suit on Monday against the French chemical company Arkema, saying they were sickened by fumes from explosions last week at the company‰??s flood-stricken plant near Houston. They say they were not given ample warning of the dangers from volatile chemicals stored at the plant.
The workers were among those hospitalized after falling ill from the fumes, according to the lawsuit, filed in Harris County District Court. The local responders also claim that Arkema failed to properly secure the chemicals or draw up adequate emergency plans. They are seeking at least $1 million in damages.
The suit describes a chaotic scene at the plant when the first of nine trailers storing a highly flammable compound ignited on Aug. 31.
‰??Immediately upon being exposed to the fumes from the explosion, and one by one, the police officers and first responders began to fall ill in the middle of the road. Calls from medics were made, but still no one from Arkema warned of the toxic fumes in the air,‰?? the lawsuit claims.
Flooding from Hurricane Harvey knocked out electricity at the plant and also disabled backup systems meant to keep a class of unstable chemicals, called organic peroxides, cool. Workers at the plant moved the chemicals into trailers before abandoning the site under orders from the local authorities. The police ordered people to evacuate a 1.5-mile radius around the plant when Arkema officials warned that explosions were imminent.
---------------------------------------------
KILLEEN COUNCILMAN CALLS FOR FORUM ON CHEMICAL PLANT
Tags: us_tx, industrial, discovery, response
Riding a wave of resident concern over the planned arrival of an MGC Pure Chemicals America plant in Killeen, Councilman Steve Harris is calling for a community forum for city officials to field questions from the public.
On Aug. 9, the Killeen Economic Development Corporation announced the signing of a performance agreement with the Japanese company for a $30 million plant on 28 acres of land in the Killeen Business Park on Roy J. Smith Drive.
The plant will produce superpure hydrogen peroxide, a cleaning chemical used in the semiconductor industry for applications that require stripping, etching and cleaning silicon wafers, according to a news release.
In an email to City Manager Ron Olson on Monday, Harris said the entire council was not briefed on the incoming plant and wanted to provide the public with information on the project.
‰??Since the negotiations were performed in secret, even from the majority of the council, I believe this to be an imperative and necessary step in maintaining transparency,‰?? Harris said.
---------------------------------------------
EPA LAST INSPECTED FLOODED ARKEMA PLANT IN 2003
Tags: us_tx, industrial, follow-up, environmental
It‰??s been 14 years since EPA inspectors last visited an Arkema Corp. facility in Crosby, Texas, that saw chemical explosions caused by flooding from Hurricane Harvey, a company official told Bloomberg BNA.
Arkema spokesman Stan Howard, and David Gray, a spokesman for the Environmental Protection Agency‰??s Region 6 office in Dallas, both said the plant was last inspected under the agency‰??s risk management program in 2003. The EPA is more likely to inspect high-risk facilities under the program ‰??where offsite consequences impact a large number of people or they have had an accident,‰?? Gray said in an email Sept. 6.
Arkema‰??s Crosby facility came under scrutiny after power failures due to an estimated 40 inches of rain at the plant during Harvey caused electricity and multiple backup generators to fail and volatile chemicals to overheat and catch fire.
The lack of inspections at the Crosby plant doesn‰??t surprise many. According to a Sept. 1 letter Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) sent to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, the agency has ‰??about 30 inspectors‰?? who can complete between 300 and 350 inspections per year of around 12,500 facilities in the program‰??information the senator‰??s spokeswoman told Bloomberg BNA came from a telephone briefing with EPA staff last week.
---------------------------------------------
GOVERNMENT ILL-EQUIPPED TO MONITOR INDUSTRIAL PLANTS DAMAGED BY HURRICANE HARVEY
Tags: us_tx, industrial, follow-up, environmental
More than a dozen Texas chemical and refining plants reported damaged storage tanks, ruptured containment systems and malfunctioning pressure relief valves as a result of Hurricane Harvey, portending safety problems that might not become apparent for months or years, according to a Houston Chronicle review of regulatory filings.
The filings are incomplete and represent only damage that produced excessive air pollution, a fraction of the impact on plants in southeast Texas that provide more than 40 percent of the nation's petrochemical capacity and about 30 percent of its refining.
At Shell's Deer Park refinery, two tanks were damaged and oil ran into a surrounding berm. At BASF's Beaumont pesticide plant, tanks overflowed and leaked unknown chemicals. At the Chevron Phillips Cedar Bayou plant, a cooling pump failed, causing overpressurized chemicals to be burned off in a flare.
When Harvey swept through the Gulf Coast and Houston area, it forced the shutdown of hundreds of industrial facilities across the region. Now, with waters receding, these operations will be coming back on line in the coming weeks, raising the prospect of cancer-causing gas emissions, toxic spills, fires and explosions, said Sam Mannan, director of a center that studies chemical process safety at Texas A&M university.
"Such a large industry coming up at the same time," he said. "All you need to do is have some mistakes pop up somewhere and it will be magnified elsewhere."
---------------------------------------------
U.S. CHEMICAL RISK PROGRAM GETS MIXED REVIEW
Tags: us, public, discovery, enviromental
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency‰??s program for evaluating the human health risks associated with exposure to chemicals in the environment‰??the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)‰??is under attack by Republican lawmakers.
At a hearing on Sept. 6, Republican leaders on two subcommittees of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space & Technology criticized EPA for not making changes to IRIS as suggested in 2014 reports by the National Academies‰?? National Research Council and the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
Democrats at the hearing, however, praised EPA for significantly improving the IRIS program in a short amount of time. They questioned why no one from EPA, GAO, or the National Academies was invited to testify at the hearing to discuss changes EPA has made in recent years. Several Democrats pointed out that EPA‰??s Scientific Advisory Board sent a letter to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt just days before the hearing, commending the agency for improving the IRIS program.
Earlier this year, the Trump Administration initially proposed to zero out funding for IRIS in EPA‰??s fiscal 2018 appropriations but later sought money for the program. Lawmakers held the hearing to assess whether the program should continue.
---------------------------------------------
WHAT MADE ARKEMA‰??S PEROXIDES UNSTABLE IN HARVEY‰??S AFTERMATH?
Tags: us_tx, industrial, followup, enviromental, peroxide
Organic peroxides, the chemicals that led to evacuations and explosions at the flooded Arkema chemical plant in Crosby, Texas, are well-known for their instability‰??the characteristic that provides both their chemical utility and their hazardous properties.
[+]Enlarge
Structure of bis(2-ethylhexyl) peroxydicarbonate and tert-butyl 2-ethylhexaneperoxoate.
Two of the peroxides stored at Arkema‰??s Crosby site were tert-butyl 2-ethylhexaneperoxoate, which has an SADT of 35 å¡C, and bis(2-ethylhexyl) peroxydicarbonate, which has an SADT of 5 å¡C for a 75% solution.
Organic peroxides contain the peroxide functional group ROORæ1.The O‰??O bond is inherently weak; the bond dissociation energy of CH3O‰??OCH3 is 157.3 kJ/mol compared with 335 kJ/mol for CH3‰??OCH3.
---------------------------------------------
EXPLOSION REPORTED IN WASIOJA
Tags: us_MN, public, explosion, injury, chlorine
Dodge County Sheriff's deputies responded to a report of a chorine explosion in rural Wasioja on September 6 at 10:15 a.m.
According to Dodge County Sheriff Scott Rose, the caller reported that there were three or four people that needed medical treatment.
Upon arrival deputies found two adults and one juvenile outside the home experiencing breathing difficulties from what was determined to be chemical exposure. Victims on scene said they were in the garage mixing two different water shock treatment products together in a bucket for their pool. When they walked through the house with the bucket to take it out to the pool it started to boil. That's when it is believed a volatile chemical reaction occurred, filling the area with fumes. Rose said there was no actual evidence of an explosion or fire.
All three victims were decontaminated on scene and transported to St Marys Hospital for evaluation due to the inhalation of chemicals. A veterinarian also responded to the scene to evaluate several pets that were also on the property at the time of the incident.
---------------------------------------------
LET CROSBY BE A LESSON: CHEMICAL PLANTS NEED TO REVEAL THEIR INVENTORIES
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, peroxide
Crosby is a community where people are accustomed to living around industrial plants, but now even these usually tolerant Texans are downright mad about the catastrophe caused by a chemical plant explosion that happened in the middle of the biggest natural disaster in their town's history.
Amid last week's flooding, everybody living within a 1.5 mile radius of Crosby's Arkema chemical plant was forced to evacuate just before at least two tons of volatile organic peroxides exploded and caught fire. The whole world watched on television as flames shot up from the floodwaters that inundated Crosby. That calamity was bad enough, but company officials ignited their own firestorm by cloaking their plant's inventory in secrecy. And the blame for keeping the public in the dark is shared by our state's top elected leader.
Arkema - whose poor public relations last week became a case study in botched media crisis management - initially refused to tell the people of Crosby what chemicals were stored in their community. Days after the first explosions, Arkema finally released a list of its inventory, but it still wouldn't reveal important details such as how much was stored on its site or where the chemicals were located. Then officials deliberately set fire to some containers of chemicals without any advance notice, detonating more explosions that frightened anxious neighbors living outside the evacuation zone.
"You don't know what's in there," Crosby resident John Rull told a Chronicle reporter. "You don't know what's in the air. Their time for keeping secrets is up."
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CROSBY PLANT EXPLOSION PRODUCED 'STRANGE RESIDUE,' EXPERT CLAIMS
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, metals, toxics
CROSBY, Texas (KTRK) -- A "strange residue" has been detected on property around the area where a flooded Crosby chemical plant caught fire, independent scientists claim after running their own tests.
"It came up with naphthalene and heavy metals in that. We're waiting on other analysis for dioxins and furans, which are very dangerous toxins," attorney Kevin Thompson said during a meeting attended by 150 local residents.
Thompson added that the residue sample has been sent off for further analysis.
Arkema, which operates the beleaguered plant, claims the smoke and ash that filled the air during the series of fires was not toxic.
---------------------------------------------
TWO PEOPLE SUSTAINED MINOR THROAT IRRITATION DURING CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_NY, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical
HILLBURN ‰?? Ramapo Police were on the scene of a reported chemical spill at 201 Route 59 in the Village of Hillburn.
At this time, police say it appears a quantity of unknown chemicals spilled onto the floor of the building causing a strong odor.
The building was evacuated and two people were transported to the hospital for minor throat irritation, said police.
The Hillburn Fire Department, along with the Rockland County and Mahwah Haz-Mat teams, were on the scene assessing the situation.
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FIRE DEPARTMENT RESPONDS TO CAR WASH AS CHEMICAL MIXTURE SENDS ONE TO THE HOSPITAL
Tags: us_CT, industrial, release, injury, bleach, oxygen
FARMINGTON - A man was transported to the hospital today, after he mistakenly mixed bleach and car soap while cleaning a wall at the Splash N Dash on the Wilton Road.
According to Farmington Fire Rescue Capt. Scott Baxter, firefighters and NorthStar EMS responded at roughly 2:44 p.m. after the man cleaning a wall at the business mistakenly mixed bleach with the car soap. The chemical reaction put the man in respiratory distress.
Baxter said that firefighters put the man on bottled oxygen and used a hose line to decontaminate him. They removed his contaminated clothing and put him on the NorthStar ambulance to be taken to Franklin Memorial Hospital to be checked out.
"It was a little bit different," Baxter said of the incident, "but more or less run of the mill once we got there."
Firefighters used the water on their truck to dilute and decontaminate the affected room. No one else was impacted by the chemical reaction.
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CHEMICAL SAFETY AUDIT LEADS TO NEW RULES IN LIED
Tags: us_NE, laboratory, discovery, environmental
In case there was any question, students are now required to wear shoes while in the Lied Science and Math building.
In some classrooms, everyone will also need to cover skin down from their armpits- that means no bare thighs. And don‰??t forget safety goggles, plus a lab coat and gloves when entering a few classrooms, too.
Doane recently conducted a chemical safety audit of Lied, resulting in new clothing policies and a long list of regulations faculty hope to put in place in the next year, said Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Chris Huber.
‰??We‰??re really looking to change the culture [of Lied] so students show up to class prepared and in the right mindset,‰?? Huber said. ‰??Not a lot of schools will be at the [safety] level that we will be when we are finished.‰??
The regulations are being set in place to create a more safe environment for Doane and have started with clothing regulations for all levels of Lied classrooms.
All rooms in Lied are at least a Level 0 room, which require shoes, Huber said. In the past, students have come to class barefoot. This would be to prevent any injury while stepping on glass or chemicals, he said.
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FLINT HILLS OFFICIALS: CHEMICAL RELEASE AT EAST PLANT CONTAINED,
Tags: us_TX, industrial, release, response, petroleum
Refinery terminal fire crews have had their hands full with a chemical release.
It started Monday night around 11 p.m. at the Flint Hills East Plant on Nueces Bay Boulevard.
Flint Hills officials say the release involved petroleum materials, but no other details were released.
Crews were still out the plant Tuesday morning, but refinery officials say the release was contained and there were no injuries.
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MANUFACTURERS SHARE CHEMICAL DATA WITH EPA TO MAKE SAFETY CASE
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental, solvent, toxics
The BASF Corp., the Dow Chemical Co. and Honeywell International Inc. are sharing chemical data with the EPA in a bid to persuade agency scientists that the compounds they make or use are safe and should stay on the market.
During the next few years, the Environmental Protection Agency will study and consider regulations for the 10 compounds that are under review if the agency determines they are unsafe‰??part of the agency‰??s implementation of last year‰??s amended toxics law. At stake are hundreds of uses of chemicals in factories, households, and construction sites that hinge on EPA‰??s upcoming reviews.
Faye Graul, executive director of the Halogenated Solvents Industry Association (HSIA), said industry‰??s goal for providing information about the 10 chemicals to the EPA is to ‰??to make our case that they should stay on the market.‰??
Sept. 19 Deadline
In meeting with the EPA, some companies are making the case that certain chemicals are small impurities in the manufacturing process and thus can be safely ignored. Others are providing use and exposure information on major industrial products such as solvents used in manufacturing. Still others are opting not to share data with the EPA, instead waiting to learn more about the process based on this first group of 10 reviews. All have an EPA deadline of Sept. 19 to submit information for this first round of chemical risk reviews.
By the end of the year, the EPA will craft blueprints for studying the health and ecological risks of 10 chemicals that will rely in part on the companies‰?? use, exposure, and toxicity data they share with the agency. The EPA will augment this data with studies in its own databases, the scientific literature, and other sources. Those 10 blueprints also will include the relevant exposure scenarios, human populations, and environmental conditions of interest.
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PFAS CHEMICAL DISCOVERY DELAYS CONSTRUCTION OF DARWIN FLOOD RETENTION POND
Tags: Australia, public, discovery, environmental
The discovery of potentially toxic PFAS chemicals linked to firefighting foams in soil near Darwin Airport has delayed the construction of a multi-million dollar retention pond designed to prevent flooding.
The delay means flood-prone properties in suburbs including Millner, Rapid Creek, Anula and Moil will face another wet season without the retention pond in place.
"We've been held prisoner in our houses now since 2011, because we were promised in 2014 there was around $12 million allocated to the flood retention basin," said Phil Campbell, whose Millner property was inundated during Cyclone Carlos in 2011.
"And that was sort of promised that it would be finished in 2016 and it's now 2017 and we've only just been told it will be put on hold again."
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IN HARVEY'S WAKE, CRITICS SEE BIG MONEY BEHIND LAX PETROCHEMICAL REPORTING
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, benzene, petroleum
Unlike any past storm ‰?? natural or man-made ‰?? Hurricane Harvey has exposed the fault lines between the politically powerful Texas petrochemical industry and the public‰??s right to know what dangers lie within their facilities.
In Crosby, on the outskirts of Houston, French-owned Arkema refused to provide the public an inventory of the substances inside its chemical plant even as they were burning and causing mandatory evacuations. Along flood-stricken petrochemical row near the Houston ship channel, meanwhile, city officials detected a huge spike in cancer-causing benzene outside a refinery this week ‰?? while the state‰??s environmental protection agency temporarily suspended certain spill and emission reporting rules in Harvey‰??s wake.
Critics point to a common thread in the light-handed regulations from state government: campaign money from oil and chemical companies flowing like floodwaters into the coffers of top Texas leaders. Those leaders have said in the past that campaign money has no role in their decision-making process.
The top recipient of industry money in Texas is Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who in 2014 ruled that Texas health officials no longer have to provide citizens with plants‰?? chemical inventories under state transparency laws. It was also Abbott who granted the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality‰??s request to temporarily suspend certain emission reporting requirements for permitted facilities.
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CARPER PROBES EPA ON ARKEMA CHEMICAL PLANT, PROPOSED CHEMICAL SAFETY CUTS
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, peroxide
Sen. Tom Carper is asking Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt to respond to potential shortcomings in the Arkema chemical facility‰??s readiness for a worst-case chemical incident and the Donald Trump administration‰??s deep budget cuts that were proposed for EPA‰??s chemical safety program.
Under the Clean Air Act, chemical facilities that store certain quantities of dangerous chemicals are required to implement a risk management plan for a worst-case release of chemicals due to an accident or a terrorist attack. On the morning of Aug. 31, the Crosby, Texas, facility, which manufactures volatile liquid organic peroxides and other toxic substances, experienced multiple explosions.
‰??According to reports, the facility lost its primary power supply because of the hurricane, but its emergency generators, which presumably were installed in order to mitigate against primary power outages, reportedly also failed, as did a secondary emergency cooling system,‰?? Carper wrote. ‰??I am concerned that the loss of offsite and emergency power combined with the evacuation of the facility has also reduced the facility‰??s ability to protect against a worst-case release of toxic sulfur dioxide gas, which the facility also contains.‰??
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