OPEN LETTER TO U.S. CHEMICAL SAFETY AND HAZARDS INVESTIGATION BOARD
August 4, 2009
Honorable John Bresland
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazards Investigation Board
2174 K Street NW, Suite 400
Washington, DC 20037
Dear Mr. Bresland:
I want to congratulate you on the near completion of the August 2008 Bayer CropScience explosion investigation. Your perseverance and commitment to upholding your Presidential charge is to be commended on what seems to have proven to be one of the most stonewalling investigations the Chemical Safety Board has ever undertaken.
While our organization has previously been in contact with the CSB to inform you of our hopes for your recommendations on Bayer CropScience incident, a bit of space from the April Congressional hearing and the following public meeting has given us some additional time to reflect on our hopes for our future.
The weeks and months prior to and following these April hearings placed much emphasis on determining Bayer’s feasibility to eliminate their stockpiles of methyl isocyanate (MIC) and the possibilities of transitioning to use of alternative chemicals and more inherently safer technologies. This is one of the outcomes for which we have advocated, not only for the health and safety of our community, but also to reduce national terrorist threat vulnerabilities. The continued use of MIC, a highly toxic chemical created of equally highly toxic chemicals, remains of grave concern to us, especially as reports indicated that this incident could have ‘eclipsed Bhopal.’ We commend you for taking the time to meet with Sarita and Safreen, the two young girls who live in Bhopal and whose families are still living the continued aftermath of the 1984 disaster. We would be remiss to stand on the shadow of the Bhopal tragedy without recognizing their continued struggles and America’s stake in them.
What would have happened had the August 2008 event actually eclipsed Bhopal? If I made it through, would my probably physically deformed children be drinking contaminated water 25 years from now, if they were lucky enough to live that long, because Bayer decided that it was cheaper to pack up and go back to Germany than clean up their responsibilities or to sell their problem to another company who would refuse to clean up since it wasn’t their mess to begin with? We truly hope that this possibility has been among the considerations for your recommendations. We would like to see a recommendation for Congressional legislation that holds the party responsible for such disasters accountable for clean up to pristine condition. We would also like to see the U.S. government take a more active role in ensuring the clean up of the Bhopal community.
While we are thrilled that both the CSB and our Congressional representatives have taken such a pro-active investigatory stance on the MIC issue, we fear that it possibly overshadows the additional risks that are posed to our community (and other communities surrounding a toxic chemical plant) on a daily basis and will continue to pose regardless of the absence or presence of MIC. Methyl isocyanate is not the only dangerous chemical being manufactured and stored at the Institute facility. Over the years, at this and all chemical facilities across the United States, chemicals have been manufactured disproportionally in minority communities without ever having been tested for toxicity to humans. They go to market before we know what environmental and health effects they cause. Each day, thousands of people die from cancers and other diseases that can be traced to the toxins in our food, our land, air, water, and the daily products we use. It is our government’s responsibility to protect us from such hazards yet instead, it has chosen to condone acts of environmental racism and discrimination while erring on the side of special interests. As we would be remiss to not recognize American industry’s role in the plight of the Bhopal people and the US government’s condoning of such acts, we would be equally remiss not to seek some sort of monumental recommendation that addresses the core issues of the problems that exist in our community and in communities across the country living in harms way of chemical plants.
Highly toxic chemicals will never be manufactured in a way that guarantees the protection of workers, community members and our environment. As such, our organization firmly believes that the only way to truly eliminate the hazards posed by toxic chemical production is to eliminate our dependence on toxic chemicals. We understand that in order to accomplish this goal, there must be a transition over time to greener technologies. However, since multi-billion dollar chemical corporations are driven solely by profits and not moral obligations to the communities in which they operate, they must be given impetus to make this transition, for the greater good of humanity. In the meantime, it is imperative that our government holds industry accountable at the onset of toxic chemical manufacturing and sends out a message to the disproportionally affected communities surrounding chemical facilities that no American community, of any color, class or ability, is considered an acceptable risk factor. The active inclusion in decision-making by the people most affected is no more than democratic. Sanctioning otherwise is ruthless and tyrannical.
In conclusion, we would like to see this investigation result in the following (in no particular order):
1. Identification and elimination of hazardous storage and processing practices, including but not limited to MIC;
2. Identification and elimination of hazardous work practices that endanger worker and community safety, specifically we would like to see --
• All safety failures be reported publicly
• Reasonable limits to the number of consecutive days worked and amount of rest time after consecutive days worked established
3. Job creation as a result of governmental incentives for industry to transition to inherently safer and greener processes;
4. Criminal and shutdown penalties of any chemical corporation for the failure to clearly communicate to emergency response officials and the community as well as for intentional and/or multiple violations of EPA or OSHA standards;
5. Regulation that does not absolve reclamation and remediation responsibilities for corporations in mergers or acquisitions;
6. Environmental justice work plans for every chemical facility operating in low-income and minority communities;
7. Legislation that requires all chemical facilities, with equal active participation from all of the stakeholders, including industry, agencies, elected officials, and the public, to develop a safety ordinance that meets or exceeds the Industrial Safety Ordinance model in Contra Costa County, California;
8. Regulations for human toxicity and long term health determination prior to mass production and public consumption;
9. Restoration of pre-911 Community Right to Know laws;
10. For our specific community, we would like to see:
• An independent epidemiological and health study of the Kanawha Valley performed in conjunction with our organization;
• A functioning and independently operated land, air and water monitor whose data would be available to governmental and public entities at any time; and,
• An Economic Impact Study surveying the loss of economic potential to the Kanawha Valley due to Brownfields.
Above all, we want Bayer CropScience (and all chemical companies) to do business as if it were in their own backyard. Likewise, the toxic chemicals we wish not to be in our backyard, we wish not to be in the backyard of our neighbors, either.
Thank you for the CSB’s thorough investigation of this incident and for considering our hopes for your forthcoming recommendations.
Sincerely,
Maya Nye, Spokesperson
People Concerned About MIC
P.O. Box 45
Institute, WV 25112
304-389-6859
peopleconcernedaboutmic@gmail.com
www.peopleconcernedaboutmic.com
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October 8, 2008
Nick Crosby, Institute Site Leader
Bayer CropScience LP
Rte 25
Institute, West Virginia 25112
Dear Mr. Crosby-
To eliminate risks of a Bhopal-type event happening in Institute, we, the signatory, are demanding that Bayer become an MIC and phosgene-free facility.
At Bayer's Institute plant, large quantities of highly toxic chemicals are produced. Among these chemicals are methyl isocyanate (MIC), the chemical that killed and injured over 100,000 in Bhopal, India, and phosgene, a nerve agent used in World War I.
Bayer reported to EPA that it stores between 100,000 and 999,999 pounds of MIC. This is two to twenty times the amount of MIC that caused the worst industrial accident in history in Bhopal, India in 1984. Institute, West Virginia is thus the only place in the United States where MIC is produced in large volumes. The plant accounts for 90% of stored MIC and 95% of MIC emissions in the US.
MIC is dangerous in concentrations lower than most humans can smell. It can kill or cause permanent injury if inhaled. In addition, between five and fifty tons of the toxic gas phosgene, a chemical weapon used during World War I, are stored. In the 1980s, German Bayer plants reduced volume storage of highly toxic agents like phosgene and MIC. A 1994 worst-case scenario analysis determined that in the event of a Maximum Credible Accident (MCA), cases of fatal poisoning could occur over a radius of nearly ten miles.
Including the most current event, the plant has a long history of accidents and leaks in which several workers were injured and killed, and hundreds of residents had to be treated in hospitals. (See partial list attached.) Bayer inherited this legacy from Union Carbide, Rhone-Poulenc, and Aventis when it purchased the Institute facility in 2001. Even though the names have changed, community concern and lack of corporate responsibility remain the same.
On December 28, 2007, several drums containing the pesticide thiodicarb burst. Several residents had to be treated for respiratory problems. Kanawha County Commissioner Kent Carper criticized Bayer's handling of the spill: "The notification was just absolutely abysmal from Bayer. Information given to the first responders was so inadequate that no one knew totally what to do". The company played down the incident and spoke of an "unpleasant smell", with no health hazards. Thiodicarb, however, is one of the most dangerous pesticides in existence. The World Health Organization (WHO) describes the substance as extremely toxic. Thiodicarb has been banned in the European Union.
Now again, following the August 28th explosion, Bayer refused crucial information. Local emergency responders weren't sure what to do for several hours after the blast. In case of a toxic release, thousands of residents would have been endangered. Mike Dorsey, emergency response director for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, said that "small amounts" of MIC are stored in an above-ground tank located just 50 to 75 feet from the explosion site. This is too close for our comfort.
Bayer not only endangered the lives of thousands of Kanawha Valley residents, it endangered the lives of plant workers and the emergency responders who attended to the explosion. Refusing crucial information to emergency responders prevented immediate and necessary health care to Bill Oxley, the worker who was severely burned in the explosion. By not decontaminating Mr. Oxley prior to transporting him to CAMC, Bayer put the lives of the ambulance drivers, nurses, doctors and other people inside the CAMC emergency room in potential grave danger.
Bayer has not yet provided any information regarding possible risks from this explosion to agencies responsible for answering to public concern. These agencies include the Poison Control Center, the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department and the Department of Agriculture.
Bayer's actions to these recent events are inexcusable, intolerable, and exhibit vast irresponsibility to the communities surrounding the plant.
On behalf of the students, faculty and staff of West Virginia State University; the staff and constituents of the West Virginia Rehabilitation Center; the workers at the Institute facility and local emergency responders and the residents of the Kanawha Valley, we are demanding the Bayer Institute plant, like it's German plants, becomes a MIC and phosgene-free facility, and change the way residue from the Larvin unit is stored.
Sincerely,
People Concerned About MIC (Kanawha Valley) www.peopleconcernedaboutmic.com
CONTACT: Maya Nye, spokesperson
304-389-6859 or peopleconcernedaboutmic@gmail.com
Coalition against BAYER Dangers (Germany) www.CBGnetwork.org
West Virginia Citizen Action Group (Charleston, WV) www.wvcag.org
Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition (Ohio Valley) www.ohvec.org
WV Chapter Sierra Club (West Virginia) http://westvirginia.sierraclub.org
WV Young Democrats Environmental Caucus (West Virginia)
PARTIAL LIST OF INSTITUTE PLANT ACCIDENTS
(Source: The Charleston Gazette)
Aug. 11, 1985: At least 135 people sought treatment at area hospitals after a leak of aldicarb oxime and four other chemicals from the plant, then owned by Union Carbide. An initial fine of $32,000 was dropped to $4,400 when the company agreed to buy an accident simulator for worker training exercises.
May 20, 1993: More than 1,000 residents of Institute and West Dunbar shelter in their homes because of a chlorine gas leak from the Institute plant's barge loading dock.
June 19, 1994: A high-tech monitoring system somehow allows a large leak of untreated wastewater from the plant to be discharged into the Kanawha River.
Aug. 18, 1994: Thousands of Kanawha Valley residents take shelter in their homes after an explosion rips through the Rhone-Poulenc facility. One worker is killed in the blast, and a second dies 10 years later from the effects of cyanide that burned his lungs. OSHA fines the company $1.7 million, but later settles the case for $700,000.
Dec. 13, 1994: A faulty chemical pump causes a leak of sulfur dichloride from the Institute plant. One worker is injured and others are forced to shelter in place.
Feb. 15, 1996: A leak and fire involving the chemical toluene prompts another widespread shelter-in-place advisory across the western part of the valley. Rhone-Poulenc pays $450,000 in fines to OSHA.
July 28, 1997: High winds and heavy rains shut down a chemical disposal system and blow out an incinerator flame, prompting the release of a tiny amount of methyl isocyanate from the Institute plant.
Oct. 15, 1999: A shelter-in-place advisory was issued for residents within two miles of the plant after a leak of the deadly gas phosgene.
Aug. 13, 2001: Ten workers received medical treatment after a chloroform leak at the Aventis portion of the Institute plant.
September 15, 2008: Bayer announced that they will pay fines to resolve violations cited in a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency inspection.
August 28, 2008: Plant worker Barry Withrow was killed in an explosion at Bayer’s Larvin unit and another was severely burned.
(Source: West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection)
November 17-21, 2007: State and federal agencies received objectionable odor complaints from St. Albans, Nitro, Institute, South Charleston and Charleston.
December 28, 2007: The process at the Larvin unit became unstable, they tried to quarantine the material but it began to auto-decompose which formed a gas and impacted the St. Albans and Teays Valley areas.