Balancing the safety, economics, and environmental impacts of petrochemicals
Police block off a highway as a large fire from a pipeline explosion burns near La Porte, Texas, on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Lekan Oyekanmi)There's nothing quite like a days-long, giant burning torch next to a neighborhood big box store, with homes nearby, to remind us how closely we live to pipelines, plants, and other infrastructure that handles, delivers, and processes flammable materials. Some, if not all of which, can lead to environmental hazards when not handled properly. That's why last week's pipeline fire prompted evacuations and some folks were kept away from their homes for days. Of course, this is not a problem unique to Houston, but we do account for some 42% of the nation's petrochemical manufacturing capacity. It's an industry that provides thousands of jobs. It's a major contributor to our region's economy. And industry leaders maintain that safety is a priority, and that the infrastructure, on the whole, is designed to keep people safe. The pipeline fire itself was a freak accident, caused by a vehicle crashing into an exposed valve. It was not an everyday occurrence. But do we have the controls in place – the regulations and regulators – that we should, to minimize the potential of such freak accidents? Erandi Treviño and Stefania Tomaskovic In the audio above, we broach that question with Erandi Treviño, co-founder of the environmental advocacy group Raices Collab Project, and Stefania Tomaskovic, Director for the Coalition for Environment, Equity, and Resilience (CEER).
We talk with a pair of environmental advocates about how the industry's regulated in Texas.
There's nothing quite like a days-long, giant burning torch next to a neighborhood big box store, with homes nearby, to remind us how closely we live to pipelines, plants, and other infrastructure that handles, delivers, and processes flammable materials. Some, if not all of which, can lead to environmental hazards when not handled properly. That's why last week's pipeline fire prompted evacuations and some folks were kept away from their homes for days.
Of course, this is not a problem unique to Houston, but we do account for some 42% of the nation's petrochemical manufacturing capacity. It's an industry that provides thousands of jobs. It's a major contributor to our region's economy. And industry leaders maintain that safety is a priority, and that the infrastructure, on the whole, is designed to keep people safe. The pipeline fire itself was a freak accident, caused by a vehicle crashing into an exposed valve. It was not an everyday occurrence.
But do we have the controls in place – the regulations and regulators – that we should, to minimize the potential of such freak accidents?
In the audio above, we broach that question with Erandi Treviño, co-founder of the environmental advocacy group Raices Collab Project, and Stefania Tomaskovic, Director for the Coalition for Environment, Equity, and Resilience (CEER).