Thursday, March 27, 2014

emergency flaring







https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10202163016609750


Valero Energy reports "the management at the Valero Meraux plant reports the refinery was in normal operations", not aware of any operating conditions related to noise, did receive calls related to smoke, but not noise.


Monday, March 24, 2014

another spill

 
 
 
spill

this is where i spend my day
sometimes looking for food
or for frolic and play
the water is so dark now
i cannot see a thing
i am so hungry
i cannot move my wings
what happened to
my homeland
where i live and breed
what will happen to
the fish
upon whom i feed
i am feeling so tired
i cannot lift my head
in this muck and this mire
i do not want to be dead. 

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

2 Million Public Comments

Interesting illumination of 2 Million Public Comments





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDq4sG-9B3I

"
"Our children and grandchildren can learn about you as the leader who helped turn the tide, or the one who turned his back on them."
 
 
 
and reference to James Hansen comment clarified
 
 
….. if we’re going to now open up this other source – unconventional fossil fuels –  the science tells us we cant do that….
 if we think we can use that unconventional fossil fuels ……  the world is just ignoring the science……..
this is game over,  if you don’t understand that we have to leave that extremely large amount of carbon in the ground

Monday, March 17, 2014



wide load delivery on east highway





 
 
is this for another expansion? or for the gas liquids recovery? we may never know

Monday, March 10, 2014

Residentially used property and PAH pollution modeling

No Neighborhood should be expected to endure industrial levels of  exposure.

St. Bernard Parish is already disproportionately burdened with pollution that could be reduced with the installation of control technology.

Jacob Drive is a residential street in a pedestrian friendly neighborhood just blocks away from the community's only high school.  It is not uncommon for children to play, ride bikes, or walk together with adults, including walking along Jacob Drive.  Jacob Drive is a school bus route, as is East St Bernard Highway at Jacob. Jacob Drive is home to family, occupied dwellings and is adjacent to the dozens of family homes and apartments on Despaux Drive. Many residents dwell in the family orientated trailer park just across the highway.

 
Jacob Drive is "off property"; it is NOT part of the industrial plant.  The plant "fenceline" is well East of Jacob Drive, East of the municipal storm water canal, and even further east than the pipeline easement now used for parking.   The plant "fenceline" is East of this parking area. So, even the parking area is "off property".

A recently published pollution dispersion report  shows the PAH emission in our neighborhood. Any modeling results for Jacob Drive should be considered off property and in an area where long term exposure to emissions is reasonably anticipated. It is the opinion of concerned citizens that more modeling is required, because the modeling results demonstrated greater than or equal to 75% of the standard at several off property receptors, with some results in the 90 percentage. 

To protect public health, Louisiana DEQ must require this next step and Valero Energy should be a good neighbor and provide for it.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), also known as poly-aromatic hydrocarbons or polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, are potent atmospheric pollutants.  Some compounds have been identified as carcinogenic, mutagenic, and teratogenic. Naphthalene is the simplest example of a PAH. PAHs occur in oil, coal, and tar deposits, and are produced as byproducts of fuel burning (whether fossil fuel or biomass).(Wikipedia)


This house is adjacent to the area on Jacob Drive where model results exceeded 75% of the standard, also shown in a blue circle area in Figure 7 below.


Below in Figure 7, the area shown in the blue circle on Jacob Drive is adjacent to occupied homes and has some results in the 90 percentage range.
page 17 of 19 in report
http://edms.deq.louisiana.gov/app/doc/view.aspx?doc=9208691&ob=yes&child=yes



Other houses are adjacent to this "blue circle" area, and the pollutants do not magically stop at the circle.


Sunday, March 9, 2014

hydrogen sulfide


Hydrogen sulfide

 

The 10am reading today for hydrogen sulfide H2S was 10 ppb at the Joe Davies elementary school.

 

Saturday, March 1, 2014

watchdog defanged

"Business is important, but there should be a balance between the regulated community and the environment,” Ms. Wilson said. “It’s all out of balance here.”

She and others said they were told to stop writing Notices of Violation to polluters, which can prompt fines, and instead to issue a Notice of Deficiency, which she likened to a state trooper giving a warning instead of a speeding ticket.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/01/us/coal-ash-spill-reveals-transformation-of-north-carolina-agency.html?ref=us&_r=0

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