Industry and Family Choice for Hazardous Material Handling, Abatement
and Protection Gas Masks, Respirators, Protection Suits,
and Equipment since 1975-Toxic Waste Removal and Lead Abatement since 1972
Among the most hellish scenarios for terrorist catastrophes in New York would
involve saboteurs blowing up one of the nearby chemical plants across the river
in New Jersey. Prevailing westerly winds would waft the toxins across the Hudson
over a helpless Manhattan. Next to bioterrorism, reported the U.S. Surgeon
General, chemical emissions would be the worst possible eventuality in a
terrorist attack. There are 120 major chemical plants in the U.S., each one
potentially threatening the lives of a million people. A government
investigation reports that their safety precautions run from "fair to poor."
"Worst case scenarios" filed with the Environmental Protection Agency reveal
just how devastating this could be—one plant in New Jersey could emit enough
toxic chemicals to poison 12 million people.
Even without a terrorist strike, toxic releases pose a horrendous problem in the
U.S., with 600,000 accidents reported over the past decade. New York state, with
over 25,000 accidents, is fourth highest.
The passage of the Homeland Security Act actually has made it harder to protect
ourselves against such potentially deadly accidents. That's because the new laws
prevent citizens from investigating the chemical industry's operations under the
Freedom of Information Act or through government whistle-blowers who discover
and report a danger. Under the new set of laws, they will lose their jobs if
they blow the whistle.
Terrorists are well aware of the possibilities. Just 10 days after the planes
hit the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, a huge explosion rocked the
area near Toulouse in southern France, killing 30 people and injuring many
others. At first, authorities laid the blame on faulty equipment in the plant.
More recently, French publications have unearthed a classified memo from
France's super-secret spook bureau, the Renseignements Généraux, an equivalent
to our National Security Agency, that instead points to a network of Islamic
terrorists. The plot supposedly stretches its tentacles to Pakistan and
Afghanistan in the east, a hidden base in London, and a pot of money in New
York, according to investigations by Le Figaro and L'Express. Whether any of
this goes anywhere is hard to know, but it has created something of a sensation
in Paris. So far, neither hypothesis—of an accident or of a terror attack—has
been completely discounted.
"Even without a terrorist strike, toxic releases pose a horrendous problem in the
U.S., with 600,000 accidents reported over the past decade. New York state, with
over 25,000 accidents, is fourth highest. "
Without Chemicals, Life Might Be Possible
James Ridgeway _ Village Voice
Deadly Plants
Among the most hellish scenarios for terrorist catastrophes in New York would
involve saboteurs blowing up one of the nearby chemical plants across the river
in New Jersey. Prevailing westerly winds would waft the toxins across the Hudson
over a helpless Manhattan. Next to bioterrorism, reported the U.S. Surgeon
General, chemical emissions would be the worst possible eventuality in a
terrorist attack. There are 120 major chemical plants in the U.S., each one
potentially threatening the lives of a million people. A government
investigation reports that their safety precautions run from "fair to poor."
"Worst case scenarios" filed with the Environmental Protection Agency reveal
just how devastating this could be—one plant in New Jersey could emit enough
toxic chemicals to poison 12 million people.
Even without a terrorist strike, toxic releases pose a horrendous problem in the
U.S., with 600,000 accidents reported over the past decade. New York state, with
over 25,000 accidents, is fourth highest.
The passage of the Homeland Security Act actually has made it harder to protect
ourselves against such potentially deadly accidents. That's because the new laws
prevent citizens from investigating the chemical industry's operations under the
Freedom of Information Act or through government whistle-blowers who discover
and report a danger. Under the new set of laws, they will lose their jobs if
they blow the whistle.
Terrorists are well aware of the possibilities. Just 10 days after the planes
hit the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, a huge explosion rocked the
area near Toulouse in southern France, killing 30 people and injuring many
others. At first, authorities laid the blame on faulty equipment in the plant.
More recently, French publications have unearthed a classified memo from
France's super-secret spook bureau, the Renseignements Généraux, an equivalent
to our National Security Agency, that instead points to a network of Islamic
terrorists. The plot supposedly stretches its tentacles to Pakistan and
Afghanistan in the east, a hidden base in London, and a pot of money in New
York, according to investigations by Le Figaro and L'Express. Whether any of
this goes anywhere is hard to know, but it has created something of a sensation
in Paris. So far, neither hypothesis—of an accident or of a terror attack—has
been completely discounted.
