hydrofluoric acid catalyst

Valero Energy Meraux petroleum refinery (according to response to noise and vibration reports) is shutting units for a turnaround.  It is also reported that the ALKY unit and the FCC unit will be permanently shut, that the plant will only do minimal processing for gasoline, and the hydrofluoric acid catalyst is being decommissioned, adding the neighbors will not longer have the HF odors.

Really?   which specific odor complaints were traced back to the dangerous HF acid and how long were residents exposed?  should we seek medical treatment? should we obtain bone scans to detect damage?

HF has poor warning properties. The odor threshold for humans is 3 ppm and irritation of mucous membranes begins at 5 ppm. I you can smell it, chances are the concentration is too high and immediate steps must be taken to lower it. Fluoride ions migrate through the body destroying tissue until lodging in the bones. If you suspect you have been exposed to hydrofluoric acid, seek immediate medical attention, even if you do not feel pain.

Inhalation of HF vapor may cause swelling in the respiratory tract up to 24 hours after exposure. Person who have inhaled HF vapor may need prophylactic oxygen treatment and should be seen by a physician as soon as possible.

USD Environmental, Health and Safety Department

land use in St Bernard: planning for unhealthy communities

not the most suitable location for recreational land use

St Bernard Parish DRAFT Comprehensive Land Use Plan  yet again recommends recreational use of properties adjacent to the Valero Energy oil refinery in Meraux, Louisiana. 

How safe is that?

 

 

How can we compel EPA to "address the real-world health risks faced by children and communities living near refineries" (Cynthia Babich, executive director of Torrance, California-based Del Amo Action Committee

 

)

Eric Kayne at Earth Justice http://earthjustice.org/news/press/2014/oil-refineries-required-to-reduce-toxic-pollution-into-the-air-communities-breathe

when less is more

"Low salinity marsh experienced more than twice as much land loss by percent than high salinity marsh."

"The failure of low salinity wetlands was focused in the interior regions of Breton Sund, the western Chenier Plain, and the more exposed regions of the Birdfoot and Wax Lake Deltas." (from Howes et al 2010)

Presentation to Council May 6 2014 around the 54:30 minute mark in link
http://sbpg.pegcentral.com/player.php?video=67d8a3aca5f542bb15506fbea9931a8b

Councilman Cavignac working on most pressing issue facing St Bernard and Plaquemines Parishes.

Centerpiece of State master plan for coastal restoration contains several large scale river diversions for St Bernard and Plaquemines Parishes. 

Salt water and brackish marsh areas were able to withstand hurricane damage while fresh water diversion area at Caernarvon withstood more damage. 

"Low salinity marsh experienced more than twice as much land loss by percent than high salinity marsh."

"The failure of low salinity wetlands was focused in the interior regions of Breton Sund, the western Chenier Plain, and the more exposed regions of the Birdfoot and Wax Lake Deltas. (from Howes et al 2010)
the promised land gain is not occurring

and its not land that stands up to surge, not land that protects us



the problem is not the sediment, its the delivery system; it brings economic loss with fresh water influence and puts coastal towns under water

render wetlands more susceptible to storm surge, changes the drinking water as far north as Orleans


Cost Effective Study does not include all information

The science is flawed in the cost of diversions vs the cost of diversions, according to a study by the Louisiana State University.

Initially dredging seems more expensive, but all the costs are not considerd, including and additional $1.8 billion for operation and maintance and additionally the economic impact of loss of estuaries due to diversions

 

 

are gasoline prices artificially high?

Gasoline prices not expected to drop

… as refiners continue to see strong demand for gasoline exports, don't look for big savings on the cost of filling up your tank any time soon.----- John W. Schoen, NBC News

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/gas-prices-have-likely-peaked-dont-expect-big-drop-n96066

Flag Etiquette and Respect

Flag Etiquette and Respect

A Louisiana elected official once said "the flag of Texaco flies over the Louisiana State Capitol." Right now that flag is flapping in the face of every citizen.  --  Robert Kennedy, Jr.

 

The flag of any company should not fly higher than the State of Louisiana flag.

 

 

Genuflecting to Big Oil

To greed, all of nature is insufficient  ---  Seneca


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-f-kennedy-jr/louisiana-wetlands-jindal_b_5162230.html

By Robert Kennedy Jr
Waterkeeper Alliance

Genuflecting to Big Oil's pressure, the industry's chief indentured servant, Governor Bobby Jindal, is leading an attempt to kill the suit by orchestrating the replacement of several members of the levee authority. Jindal's caper violates state laws that guarantee that body's political independence. Urged on by the Governor, crooked Legislators are currently advancing bills to undermine the levee board and retroactively kill the lawsuit. Louisiana is a classic corporate kleptocracy. There is no sunshine in Baton Rouge ; Like so many cockroaches Big Oil's state house sock puppets are working their mischief in the darkness with no accountability or public participation.

 

A Louisiana elected official once said "the flag of Texaco flies over the Louisiana State Capitol." Right now that flag is flapping in the face of every citizen. Tax-hating governor Jindall now wants to spend tens of millions of dollars of tax payer money to plug oil canals which companies are required by law to plug themselves. That money pales beside to the $50 billion cost of the state's Master Plan to protect the coast. Jindal's funding proposal caper will protect his oil industry patrons and stick the public with the bill: taxpayers will cover the costs of damage caused by oil companies.

 

A recent poll by the nonprofit, Restore Louisiana Now, found that 90 percent of state residents believe the oil and gas industry should pay it's fair share, and 75 percent believe the governor has no business shielding the oil and gas industry from the costs of its misbehavior.

As Seneca observed "To greed, all of nature is insufficient".

 

 

 

 

The above photo of Chalmette, LA's Val Reiss park in District C is the area inundated with one million gallons of crude oil when a storage tank ruptured in the aftermath of the floods from the failure of the Federal Levee system in 2005. 

 

We've come a long way thanks to the residents and to their civic association Rediscover District C; yet the same facility is still allowed to discharge oily waste water into our canals, which drain into the Central Wetlands shown in the photo.  About two weeks ago, a heavy rain event, not uncommon in our region, resulted in the treatment ponds being let open for over 30 hours of discharge into our canals!

And continued rain water runoff issue into another neighborhood canal.

 

Petcoke regulations

 

"The lion's share" of the sulfur dioxide nonattainment issue in Chalmette, Louisiana is said to be from the Rain CII coke plant, where petcoke is processed for the aluminum industry.

Petcoke is becoming more and more of an issue in the States. 

Time to get your regulatory guard up, America --- Mike G.

http://www.desmogblog.com/2014/04/14/why-isn-t-petcoke-regulated-public-health-threat

Petcoke is not just a health issue, however ................

Due to state and federal restrictions on burning petcoke that make it nearly impossible to sell domestically, most of it is sold overseas. California exports 128,000 barrels of petcoke every day, mostly to China, where it is burned as a fuel source for electricity.

Both the California state government and the federal government officially consider petcoke a “byproduct,” not a waste product, so California’s emissions laws don’t apply to these overseas sales. That means companies in the business of refining oil can sell their petcoke to China without ever having to account for the greenhouse gas emissions, even though burning petcoke releases 5-10% more carbon dioxide into our atmosphere than burning coal.