In I started writing Chem Storm, relying on my twenty years of working in numerous plants on and around the Houston ship channel. Events included in.
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As well as direct contamination and safety issues, the standing water across Texas brings other safety risks. This organophosphate insecticide has been withdrawn from use in the EU since , but the EPA asserts that the product is being used in low enough concentrations and by methods that do not cause concerns for human health. The EPA is currently conducting a routine safety review of naled, which is due to be completed by the end of Elsewhere, petrochemical facilities in the Houston area are resuming operations.
ExxonMobil has begun the process of restarting its refinery and chemicals plant in Beaumont, Texas. Occidental Petroleum is moving towards restoring operations at its Ingleside plant, with its steam cracker that can produce ,m 3 of ethylene per year. However, she said the associated vinyl chloride monomer plant did suffer some wind damage.
The Chemistry of a Thunderstorm
However, they are not yet up to full capacity because of issues with third parties on whom the company depends. The company says it is working to return production capacity to normal as quickly and safely as possible. Meanwhile, Chevron Phillips Chemical anticipates a delay in startup of its new 1. The cracker was expected to be completed this year , but rains left parts of the facility under five to eight feet of water. To date, the company has not found any permanent water damage.
DuPont is still trying to determine the availability of key raw materials, some of which may impact the operation of the cracker. Industry guidance is needed to help hazardous chemical facilities better prepare for extreme weather events like flooding, the CSB warns. Prizes given for research that first makes you laugh and then make you think reward some more unlikely discoveries. Government guidance on impact of leaving EU unprepared paints a worrying picture for research and medicines.
Ex-Colorado State University chemist Brian McNaughton reaches a plea deal after being caught forging a job offer letter to get a raise. Regularly updated and packed full of articles, podcasts and videos, there is no better way to keep in touch with the chemical sciences. Published by the Royal Society of Chemistry. Site powered by Webvision. Skip to main content Skip to navigation Create your free account Registration is free, quick and easy.
Mercury mystery The concern is that these mega-storms can wash toxic materials into local water systems. Refineries restarting Elsewhere, petrochemical facilities in the Houston area are resuming operations.
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Business US chemical safety agency wants Arkema disaster to spark real change 25 May Industry guidance is needed to help hazardous chemical facilities better prepare for extreme weather events like flooding, the CSB warns. News Art conservation using saliva wins chemistry Ig Nobel 14 September Prizes given for research that first makes you laugh and then make you think reward some more unlikely discoveries.
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And that seemed like the end of it until a few weeks ago when the district attorney announced criminal charges against Rowe, the plant manager, who had been at the plant during the storm, and the company itself, which means they could go to prison. The charges are environmental. They are reckless emission of an air contaminant and endangerment of persons.
I-CHEM Storm Water Sampler
Kim Ogg is the Harris County district attorney. To her, it's clear that the fires happened because people at Arkema ignored the risk of flooding. I support responsible companies. It's the conscious disregard that was shown by Arkema executives in this case that has led to their indictment. She points out that the Arkema plant is in a flood plain, although it's never gotten anywhere near the amount of water it got last year.
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Still, she says, there were signs that flood risk was increasing before Harvey in part because of climate change. We've had a new normal in Houston.
We've had three year floods in just a short period of time. And so it was a risk that was unjustifiable. Trying to find scapegoats and calling individuals felons - are you kidding me? It's morally, legally, ethically wrong. What they were supposed to do under current regulations is have a hurricane preparedness plan and a broader emergency plan, both of which at least noted the risk of flooding.
But following existing regulations may not be enough. Chemical Safety Board investigation into what happened at Arkema found that there is little or no guidance for chemical companies to actually minimize the risk from floods. And companies may need clearer rules about, for example, storing volatile chemicals in flood plains during hurricane season. From Hardin's point of view, the conversation should be about regulations, not crimes. I get really, really frustrated of people wanting to use the criminal justice system to respond to bad things that happen.
Sometimes bad things happen that - there's no crime. It's not anyone's fault. We need to look forward to the future and make sure that we are prepared for these kinds of things if this is going to be the new norm, and many think it is. Climate change is driving more big, wet, slow-moving storms like Harvey. Last year's disaster is a vision of the future. And in some ways, this case is testing whether the effects of climate change will play out, in part, in criminal court. Can companies and the people who work for them be held responsible, even sent to prison, if they fail to prepare for storms that are bigger than anything in the past?
David Uhlmann is a law professor at the University of Michigan and the former top environmental prosecutor for the Department of Justice. Today already we expect companies to be prepared to handle what I might call ordinary rainfall. What climate change is going to do, among other things, is change our definition of what is ordinary rainfall. As Harvey shows, the extraordinary is becoming more commonplace. And regulations and legal definitions may not be able to keep up.