Bush Blocking Safe Chemical Alternatives at Vulnerable Power Plants

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> Wed, 18 Aug 2004 13:06:06 GMT

> " BushGreenwatch " <info

 

> Bush Blocking Safe Chemical Alternatives at

> Vulnerable Power Plants

>

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> BUSHGREENWATCH

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> Misdeeds

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> August 18, 2004

>

> BUSH BLOCKING SAFE CHEMICAL ALTERNATIVES AT

> VULNERABLE POWER

> PLANTS

>

> In the almost three years since September 11, the

> Bush

> administration has not only failed to safeguard

> vulnerable

> terrorist targets here at home, it has actively

> blocked an

> Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) initiative to

> impose

> security measures for extremely hazardous chemicals

> stored at

> power plants across the country.

>

> As a result, according to a new report by the

> Working Group on

> Community Right-to-Know, some 3.5 million people

> living near

> these non-nuclear power plants continue to face the

> danger that

> a terrorist attack could send a cloud of toxic and

> lethal gas

> into their neighborhoods.

>

> Titled Unnecessary Dangers:Emergency Chemical

> Release Hazards at

> Power Plants, the report describes how a sudden

> release of

> ammonia or chlorine from a power plant could kill

> and injure far

> more people than the tragedy of September 11.

>

> Power plants burning coal or oil use ammonia in air

> pollution

> control equipment and chlorine in their cooling

> water systems.

> The report calls for power plants to shift to safer

> chemicals,

> which are available today and would all but

> eliminate the

> hazard. [1]

>

> " Safer chemicals should be the option of first

> resort, " Paul

> Orum, the author of Unnecessary Dangers told

> BushGreenwatch. " We

> know security systems will fail " . The Working Group

> on Community

> Right-to-Know website contains excerpts from

> numerous media

> reports which have documented security breaches at

> facilities

> storing chemicals around the country. " Power plants

> are only one

> industry among many that pose chemicals emergency

> release

> hazards to communities, " he added.

>

> Unnecessary Dangers reports that EPA was making

> final

> preparations in June 2002 to announce new security

> requirements

> for power plants and other industries with stores of

> hazardous

> chemicals. The staff had already drafted a press

> release and

> talking points, when the White House suddenly

> stepped in and

> blocked the regulatory initiative.

>

> The report also details how opposition from chemical

> manufacturers has derailed a bill in Congress, the

> Chemical

> Security Act, which would have required facilities

> using the

> most dangerous chemicals to consider safer

> technologies and use

> them where practicable.

>

> The report makes it clear that a power company's

> choice of

> chemicals determines the danger to the surrounding

> community:

>

> -The choice of anhydrous ammonia by some 166 power

> plants

> endangers 21,000 people on average around each

> facility.

>

> -The choice of the far less dangerous aqueous

> ammonia by 69

> power plants endangers an average of 205 people

> off-site.

>

> -The chlorine gas used at 40 power plants endangers

> on average

> 4,600 neighbors.

>

> Orum says power plants can readily substitute safer

> chemicals

> that work just as well for pollution control and

> cooling

> systems. Urea can replace the extremely hazardous

> anhydrous

> ammonia, and chlorine bleach or bromine can replace

> chlorine

> gas. Unnecessary Dangers identifies the 225 power

> plants of

> concern and the specific chemicals used.

>

> ###

>

> SOURCES:

> [1] Unnecessary Dangers:Emergency Chemical Release

> Hazards at

> Power Plants, WOrking Group on Community

> Right-to-Know,

> http://ga3.org/ct/E7zkGk91XaJ4/.

>

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