Chemical plants
Local mayors agree to work together on air pollution issues
Houston Mayor Bill White recently proposed a benzene reduction plan that would include negotiating voluntary agreements with petrochemical facilities outside of the city limits. Mayors of several cities east of Houston (including my hometown, Baytown) lashed out at the proposal, claiming that White was overstepping his authority.
On Thursday, March 15, 2007 White met with the other mayors and apparently came to an agreement on the issue, according to an article in the Houston Chronicle.
"It's a really big day in the region," White said after the closed-door summit with the mayors of Pasadena, La Porte, Deer Park, Baytown, Morgans Point and Galena Park. Precinct 2 Harris County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia also attended.
Local study links childhood cancer and toxic emissions
A City of Houston sponsored study released January 18th shows a 56% increased risk of leukemia among children within two miles of the Houston Ship Channel compared with children living further away.
In addition, the study estimated exposures to two carcinogens known to be at high levels here, butadiene and benzene. Children living in areas with the highest levels of butadiene, estimated from monitoring data collected by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, had significantly higher rates of  any type of leukemia (40%, p-value=0.02), acute lymphocytic leukemia (38%, p-value=0.05), and acute myeloid leukemia (153%, p-value=0.03) compared with children living in areas with the lowest estimated butadiene levels.Â
Texas files suit against Houston-area polluters
In a December 20 press release, the Texas Attorney General's office announced that it has filed a lawsuit against four Houston-area companies for violations of air pollution laws.
According to documents filed in Travis County district court today, operations personnel at Lyondell Chemical Co., Equistar Chemicals, Millennium Petrochemicals Inc., and Millennium Petrochemicals GP repeatedly failed to prevent the release of harmful pollutants into the atmosphere. The Office of the Attorney General decided to seek civil penalties after its settlement negotiations with the four companies and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) reached an impasse earlier this year.
Scientists agree: Houston's air is dangerous
According to a new report by leading air quality scientists, Houston area residents face a dangerously high risk of cancer and other chronic disease as a result of breathing toxic air pollution.
In the report's executive summary, a stunning series of tables and graphs shows that yearly levels of certain air toxics are 20 times higher than levels found in other major U.S. cities.
The report, entitled "The Control of Air Toxics: Toxicology Motivation and Houston Implications," was funded by Houston Endowment. It focuses on four air toxics: benzene, 1,3 butadiene, formaldehyde and diesel particles. It recommends that the state of Texas implement enforceable ambient standards for these pollutants.
Odors - dealing with the nuisance of industry
Concerns about odors are well-founded. Unpleasant odors are often an indication that dangerous pollutants are in the air.
Even if the odors don't indicate danger, they can make people ill or at least cause people to curtail activities. How about that picnic to celebrate a 50th wedding anniversary being canceled?
Houston City Council hesitates on clean air issues
There's an article in The Houston Chronicle today regarding the Houston City Council's reluctance to act on several agenda items involving clean air issues.
The mayor is not getting a free pass in his march to clean up Houston's air. That became clear Wednesday, when a majority of the City Council questioned, and delayed, proposals to give Houston's attorneys the authority to sue two local industrial plants over air pollution.
The article refers to two resolutions involving Texas Petrochemicals and Valero.  The city is seeking to prosecute the companies for four air pollution incidents that occurred in 2006.
Cooling Off
State Investigations Show Reductions in Cooling Tower Emissions
Three years ago, GHASP reviewed 12 state investigations of cooling water towers in the Houston area conducted by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) in 2002 and 2003. We found that measured emissions exceeded the permitted, grandfathered, or otherwise accepted rate by 138%.1 In reviewing 20 investigations conducted roughly a year later, GHASP found that measured emissions were about 76% less than the accepted rate. In other words, TCEQ investigations indicate that in 2002-03 cooling towers were emitting far more than expected, but in 2004-05, they were emitting less than expected.
More hazardous waste burning in a metals recovery smelter
Houston correspondent Ralph Blumenthal of the New York Times reports that a copper plant illegally burned hazardous waste.
A bankrupt copper giant facing billions of dollars in pollution claims across the nation pretended for years to recycle metals while illegally burning hazardous waste in a notorious El Paso smelter, according to a newly released Environmental Protection Agency document.
The agency, in a 1998 internal memorandum, said the company, Asarco, and its Corpus Christi subsidiary, Encycle, had a permit to extract metals from hazardous waste products but used that as a cover to burn the waste until the late 1990’s, saving the high costs of proper disposal.
Industry thriving as environmental regulations kick in
Industrialinfo.com reports that about $10 billion is being invested in chemical plants and refineries this year, which happens to be the year that major air pollution control deadlines are occuring. When these regulations were proposed, the companies complained that it would force plant closures and cost jobs - but of course the opposite is occuring.
According to the latest monthly update to the North American Industrial Spending Index, the Southwest Region, which includes Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma, is experiencing 29.1% growth in project spending at this time in 2006, when compared to 2005.
Traditionally, Texas leads not only the region, but the nation in industrial project spending with its heavy oil & gas-related, and industrial manufacturing expenditures.
Baytown pipeline rupture forces evacuation of nearby homes
There is an article in the Houston Chronicle this morning about a pipeline rupture that occurred yesterday, Sept. 16, in Baytown. A construction crew hit the pipeline, which carries isobutane gas.
"They were tunneling to install a water line and as they were doing that, they hit the pipeline," said Lt. Mike Ryan, incident commander for the Baytown Fire Department. Families living in the Palm Drive subdivision, as well as a few businesses on North Main, were evacuated after the pipeline was broken, Ryan said.
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