Bizarro World
May 24th, 2006 at 9:36 am by Susie
Still feeling safer with the Republicans in charge? I know I am:
PHILADELPHIA, May 23 (Reuters) - Millions of residents of the central U.S. East Coast are at risk of death or injury from release of toxic chemicals because of lax security at chemical plants in New Jersey, a study released on Tuesday said.
New Jersey has 110 plants that could release life-threatening chemicals into the environment in “worst-case scenarios” developed by chemical manufacturers, such as accidents or terrorist attacks, said the study by the New Jersey Work Environment Council, an alliance of labor, community and environmental organizations.
The study cites six facilities where a major chemical release could kill or injure as many as 1 million people, and another 15 facilities that could each affect 100,000 people.
A toxic release at one plant in northern New Jersey could affect as many as 12 million people, including residents of New York, and one in the South of the state could send a cloud of deadly chlorine gas into Philadelphia, it said.
Elvin Montero, a spokesman for the Chemistry Council of New Jersey, which represents chemical manufacturers, said the study itself undermined security by releasing information about the locations and activities of chemical manufacturers that has not been widely available since the attacks of Sept. 11.
You got that? Pointing out the danger and saying nothing’s been done to prevent it is the real danger.
Welcome to Bizarro World.
for once, the oil companies are being more responsible– I got a note the other day saying that Sunoco has installed sirens to warn people in case of emergency at the refinery in SW Philadelphia, and that they’d be testing them this weekend. Of course, the chemical treatment plant that’s 2 miles closer to my house hasn’t done the same…