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Government ill-equipped to monitor industrial plants damaged by Hurricane Harvey
Retweeted by David Fahrenthold: https://twitter.com/Fahrenthold
What happens when a hurricane smashes into a broken chem regulatory system? We're about to find out.
Link to tweet
Government ill-equipped to monitor industrial plants damaged by Hurricane Harvey
Plants: As industrial facilities damaged by storm reboot, safety issues could stay hidden for months or years to come
By Mark Collette and Matt DempseySeptember 6, 2017
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.
....
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.
....
"There are two things to focus on," said Jordan Barab, a former top Occupational Safety and Health Administration official. "The startup problem, and then longer-term safety." ... Restarting a chemical plant or refinery already is the most dangerous period in the life of a plant, because it entails regenerating complex chains of chemical reactions that require a perfect balance to prevent uncontrolled releases and explosions.
Plants: As industrial facilities damaged by storm reboot, safety issues could stay hidden for months or years to come
By Mark Collette and Matt DempseySeptember 6, 2017
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.
....
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.
....
"There are two things to focus on," said Jordan Barab, a former top Occupational Safety and Health Administration official. "The startup problem, and then longer-term safety." ... Restarting a chemical plant or refinery already is the most dangerous period in the life of a plant, because it entails regenerating complex chains of chemical reactions that require a perfect balance to prevent uncontrolled releases and explosions.
Times: Arkema Incident “Raised Doubts” About Chemical Industry’s Preparedness.
