Greenpeace and the Working Group on
Community Right to Know (CRTK) released today, previously
unpublished
catastrophic chemical accident scenarios prepared by 50
chemical
companies in Louisiana. After the chemical company lobbied
Congress in
1999 to restrict public release of these accident scenarios,
the
information has not been readily available until today. The
company
data shows that more than a million people are at risk from only
one
worst-case scenario chemical accident.
Chemical accidents are under reported and no federal agency
keeps a
complete record. Between 1987 and 1994, more than 3,000
chemicals
accidents were reported in the U.S. of more than 10,000 pounds
of
hazardous material.
More people that live and work as far as 25 miles from dozens
of
chemical plants such as Dow, Georgia Gulf, Vulcan and Dupont are
at
risk of accidents. The groups released data on 50 danger zones
that
blanket a corridor 25 miles wide from Baton Rouge to New Orleans
and
the Lake Charles area in southwest Louisiana.
The same company reports include worst case scenarios and
alternative scenarios, including toxic chemical releases, fires
and
explosions. The Dow plant in Plaquemine reported a worst case
accident
involving the release of hydrogen chloride that could put
370,000
people at risk. Dow’s alternative scenario projects a smaller
danger
zone of 6.9 miles that puts 31,000 people at risk from a
chlorine leak.
Thirty-two of the 50 facilities investigated have reported
accidents
in the last eight years. These accidents have included worker
injuries,
evacuations, “shelter in place” emergency procedure and millions
of
dollars in property damage.
Greenpeace and the Working Group on CRTK collected this
alarming
data from the US EPA reading room in Washington, D.C. The data
released
today is for companies reporting worst case scenarios that could
put
100,000 or more people at risk.
The 1984 Union Carbide chemical leak
in Bhopal, India killed more
than 2,000 people and injured more than 100,000. This accident,
the
largest in history, prompted accident prevention provisions in
the 1990
Clean Air Act. Chemical companies, however, claimed terrorists
could
use these provisions to attack the U.S. and Congress limited
the
public’s access to this information. Although no chemical
company has
ever been the target of terrorists, the public is not allowed
to
photocopy these reports and can only view ten reports each
month.
