Shell Does A 180, Will Now Suspend Construction At PA Plastics Plant Site With 8,000 Workers

[hatrack]

Shell said Wednesday it will temporarily suspend construction of its ethane cracker in Beaver County to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. Local elected officials had called on the company earlier in the day to voluntarily close the site, where about 8,000 people are working. Officials said they’d received hundreds of complaints from workers at the site about unsanitary and crowded conditions. Beaver County has two reported cases of coronavirus.

Hilary Mercer, vice president of Shell Pennsylvania Chemicals, said in a news release that the shutdown is to allow the company to “install additional mitigation measures” that align with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to limit the spread of COVID-19. Once that’s done, Mercer said, “we will consider a phased ramp-up that allows for the continuation of safe, responsible construction jobs.” The news release did not say how long the shutdown could last.

On Tuesday, the company talked publicly about actions it was taking to mitigate the coronavirus spread, even as some workers said they were concerned about close contact with others at the site.

EDIT

Beaver County Commissioner Dan Camp, a Republican, said his office had received 300 phone calls in the past few days from people who were worried about transmission of the virus. “I took a call last night from someone who is concerned about her 70-year-old father who’s working there,” Camp said. Camp and several other elected officials had called on the company to voluntarily close. “If we do have an outbreak here in Beaver County, we have about 400 hospital beds, our local hospital only has 40 total ventilators,” he said. “One little accident down at that site could really cause a lot of issues, not only in Beaver County, but in the Pittsburgh area too.”

EDIT

https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2020/03/18/shell-suspends-construction-of-beaver-county-petrochemical-plant-to-address-coronavirus-concerns/

[Captain Zero]

1. And because it was to process FRACKED product which is no longer viable at 1.69/gallon

Fracking can't cover it's costs at the price to which the Saudi have pushed the prices down. The good thing, maybe, is less fracking pollution and earthquakes.

[femmocrat]

2. They should have closed over a week ago.

The workers complained loudly about unsafe conditions. My god, a 70-year old working there!!
It was widely covered in the Pittsburgh media.

[RealityChik]

3. Those 8,000 workers have more to worry about than COVID-19.

The rate of cancers and other life-threatening diseases that are acquired by not only the employees that WORK at plastics plants, but also the people forced to live next to these polluted plants too is far more alarming!

Eventually, it is possible to get reasonable control of a virus. It is almost impossible to get control of the Petrochemical polluters which continues to lie about the safety of their products and factories, killing and maiming far greater numbers of people than the corona virus ever could.

We, the People, have the power to change that. We just need the will, perserverence and a whole lot of patience. Place the blame, not on consumers, but where it rightfully belongs. Make polluters pay for poisoning us all.

How to redirect 8000 workers to other jobs in safer industries? God, I wish I knew! Bring back glass, paper and other sustainable packaging? The ROI would be infinite! Saves jobs, lives, environment? Best of all, may even save our future. Thoughts, anyone?

Sorry if this is a bit off-topic, but actually isn't.