Chemical plants

March 25, 2003 9:23 PM

"If terrorists strike a chemical plant just nine miles from Times Square, millions could die.But the chemical industry and its friends in Washington are blocking tough safeguards." In fact, according to Senator Jon Corzine and the EPA, there are 123 chemical facilities in the US where a release of chemicals could threaten more than one million people. But a year after Carl Prine found he could just stroll into 30 chemical plants in three cities, many plants remain vulnerable, and I fear that the U.S. may yet experience its own Bhopal.
posted by homunculus (6 comments total)

I lived in the SF East Bay for many years. Martinez, CA used to have many chemical incidents on a monthly basis. It got so bad and many local residents complained so much that an automated telephone warning system was installed.
No wonder rent was cheap. :(
posted by lsd4all at 12:19 AM on March 26, 2003

Gee, thanks for this info homunculus - I like to vary my worries and expand to my phobias whenever possible! I checked the resource map for my state and we seem to still be more worried about snow emergencies that any other kind. Whether terror-related or not, Scorecard.com is a good place for U.S. residents to get scared silly about chemical risks in local neighborhoods.

Thanks for this info, and btw, thanks for all the great links you always add in-thread too!
posted by madamjujujive at 10:14 AM on March 26, 2003

Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.
posted by quonsar at 10:49 AM on March 26, 2003

So you are saying I should spend rather than save my tax refund? Armageddon party at madamjujujive's!
posted by madamjujujive at 11:23 AM on March 26, 2003

To second what lsd4all said, there are chemical accidents and releases occurring around the world on a pretty regular basis, no sabotage required. Here’s an informal look, via the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. Never heard of ‘em? They’re like the NTSB, but they look for the root causes of accidents at chemical plants. They’ve got eight ongoing accident investigations, including one looking at the three fatalities and multiple injuries caused by the January explosion at the West Pharmaceuticals plant in North Carolina. To be fair, I should note that the consequences of these accidents almost solely involve on-site workers and contractors, not the public.
posted by win_k at 11:46 AM on March 26, 2003

I'm glad you all the links, madam. That's high praise from one of my favorite posters. And thanks for the Scorecard link, I couldn't remember the name of their site when I was composing this post.

Armageddon party at madamjujujive's!

Woohoo! Will there be war pie?
posted by homunculus at 3:11 PM on March 26, 2003