Things That Go Boom: Texas Chem Plant Edition

The residents of Port Neches, TX, some 80 miles east of Houston, were awakened early this morning by a huge blast, blowing out windows and shaking homes at a good distance, as a chemical explosion rocked a plant there. Residents were ordered to evacuate near the petrochemical plant, which is owned by TPC group, and indication that a "chemical plume" was released in the explosion and fire. Three workers were reported injured, one with serious burns that required evacuation to a Houston hospital.

One local resident, a pistol-packing Judge no less, described his experience:

"Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick told Beaumont TV station KBMT the blast awakened him early Wednesday at his home, and that it initially sounded like someone firing a gun into his house.

“When I got out there and grabbed my pistol and ran to the front door, I saw that the front and back door were splintered and wood had flown everywhere ... I could see the flames from the backyard,” Branick said."

The physical damage from the blast and fire is one thing, but the ongoing threat is the expanding toxic plume:

"The Nederland Volunteer Fire Department warned people living south of Interstate 10 near the plant to minimize their exposure to the chemical plume by sheltering in place, closing windows and turning off their heating and air conditioning systems. A mandatory evacuation was ordered for everyone within a half mile of the TPC plant, and the fire department said that evacuation could expand to wider area." (our emphasis)

It was just three weeks ago that we saw a Dow Chemical plant in Plaquemines, LA producing petrochemicals suffer a large explosion, fortunately with no loss of life. Whether this or the Texas blast this morning are the result of relaxed regulations brought about by State and local bridge collapse/ E. coli conservatives and/or the environmentally-toxic Trump regime remains to be analyzed.  But two explosions at petrochemical plants in the oil and gas patch of Texas and Louisiana within a month is a powerful coincidence.

Shocker: Trump's Consumer Product "Safety" Commission Isn't About "Safety"

Today's Washington Post has an exposé on how Republicans on the Consumer Product Safety Commission sank a recall for a brand of baby jogging stroller made by Britax that had an unfortunate habit of having its front wheel fall off.  Chalk up another win for E. coli conservatives:

The untold story of the Britax case shows how changes in the safety agency’s leadership under President Trump influenced the handling of a product that the commission believed had injured consumers. The case was even more striking because it unfolded as Republicans assumed day-to-day control of the agency, eventually earning a majority on the agency’s oversight commission for the first time in more than a decade.

According to a review of documents by The Washington Post and interviews with eight current and former senior agency officials, the agency’s Republican chairwoman kept Democratic commissioners in the dark about the stroller investigation and then helped end the case in court. Some spoke on the condition of anonymity because of agency rules against discussing cases.

These events occurred with little notice amid other, higher-profile deregulatory moves by the Trump administration. But consumer advocates said changes at the Consumer Product Safety Commission could be a worrisome sign of regulators pulling back at an agency that oversees safety in 15,000 everyday products, from toys and dressers to lawn mowers and table saws.  (our emphasis)

The Republican chairwoman behind this is quite the fox in the CPSC chickencoop:

Ann Marie Buerkle, a Republican, was named acting chairwoman in February 2017. Trump has nominated her to take on the role permanently. 

Buerkle, who has served on the commission since 2013, was the only commissioner to oppose proposed portable-generator rules aimed at reducing carbon monoxide poisoning in 2016. She was again the lone vote that year against a then-record $15.45 million penalty for a company accused of making humidifiers prone to catching fire. [snip]

In Buerkle’s first two years as chairwoman, the number of companies fined for misconduct declined to five in 2017-2018 from 12 in 2015-2016. Public voluntary recalls fell about 13 percent during the same period, resulting in approximately 80 fewer recalls, according to agency data. Last year, the number of public recalls fell to its lowest level in a decade, consumer advocates say.  (our emphasis)

So, the bottom line, after the Commission's professional compliance staff unanimously went on record calling for a safety recall, and after the pre- election Democratic majority Commission filed a lawsuit to force Britax to recall its defective strollers, the post- election Republican majority led by Buerkle [spoiler alert!] deliberately sank the Commission's case against Britax.

Beyond the anti- consumer decision at hand, this also sends a clear message to businesses that they can get away with pretty much anything, consumers be damned.  And that's precisely the outcome E. coli conservatives want.

(Photo:  Front wheel on the Britax jogger stroller, not the big wheel execs Republicans care about;  Dustin Franz for the Washington Post)

Trump's Swamp Breeds E. Coli

Let them eat cake!

For more than a decade, it’s been clear that there’s a gaping hole in American food safety: Growers aren’t required to test their irrigation water for pathogens such as E. coli. As a result, contaminated water can end up on fruits and vegetables. 

After several high-profile disease outbreaks linked to food, Congress in 2011 ordered a fix, and produce growers this year would have begun testing their water under rules crafted by the Obama administration’s Food and Drug Administration. 

But six months before people were sickened by the contaminated romaine, President Donald Trump’s FDA – responding to pressure from the farm industry and Trump’s order to eliminate regulations – shelved the water-testing rules for at least four years. 

Despite this deadly outbreak, the FDA has shown no sign of reconsidering its plan to postpone the rules. The agency also is considering major changes, such as allowing some produce growers to test less frequently or find alternatives to water testing to ensure the safety of their crops.  (our emphasis)

E. coli conservatism strikes again! Not surprisingly, there's a Trump fox in the chicken coop:

James Gorny, a former industry lobbyist whom the FDA hired in February to implement produce safety rules, told the group that the agency would not ask anything of growers in the interim. 

“The FDA has clearly stated, ‘Keep doing what you’re doing.’ We’re not asking you to do any more at this point in time,” he said. 

Gorny’s career is a classic example of the revolving door between federal agencies and the industries they regulate.  (our emphasis)

Who the hell cares about food safety if it comes at the cost of asking a grower to "do any more at this point in time," like testing water for E. coli?  It's just the price you're paying for freedumb!

We wonder if the tens of millions of dollars in lost revenue to growers from the recent romaine lettuce recall, not to mention loss of consumer confidence in the food supply system, was worth it.  We suspect, since this is only the latest of many instances of irresponsible practices on the part of the agriculture industry, they see it as part of the cost of doing business.  Maybe the Democratic House will see it differently.

So much rot and corruption, so little time.

Report On Flint Water Crisis Blames Republican State Officials

Forget the Republican posturing and attempts at blame- shifting at the recent Congressional hearings on the Flint, MI, water contamination crisis.  Republican Gov. Rick "You Make Me Sick"Snyder's own appointed task force has issued its report on responsibility for the debacle:

A task force appointed by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder to investigate the water-contamination crisis in Flint issued a blistering report Wednesday, laying blame squarely on state officials in what it called “a story of government failure, intransigence, unpreparedness, delay, inaction and environmental injustice.”

The 116-page report details a widespread lack of responsibility and leadership that contributed to the catastrophe, which potentially exposed more than 95,000 residents in the beleaguered city — including about 9,000 children under age 6 — to water tainted with lead.

The Flint Water Advisory Task Force said the state Department of Environmental Quality “failed in its fundamental responsibility” to enforce drinking-water regulations and assured the governor’s office that Flint’s water was safe when it wasn’t. The independent group faulted Snyder and his administration for failing to act even after “suggestions to do so by senior staff members in the Governor’s office.”

As we've noted in the past, this sorry episode is just one example of the social Darwinist philosophy of "e coli" (a.k.a., "bridge collapse") conservatives playing out in the real world, where the ultimate goal is the shrinking of government to the point it can be drowned in a bathtub (h/t Grover Norquist), public health and safety be damned.

The other part of this story is the inattention of the media.  Once the lights go off and the cameras are gone, the story gets bottom- of- the- fold, page 16 treatment (as this article did in the print once great Washington Post Bezos Bugle today).   That's been the "story" from the earliest days of this human catastrophe - that is, it isn't a story.  Shame on our puerile, shiny- object obsessed media for coming late to Flint, then opting to bury its lessons on the back pages.

Today's Cartoon - A Lead Pipe Cinch

(click on image to enlarge)



(Tom Toles, once great Washington Post Bezos Bugle)

Dave Dayen has a great article about how the water crisis in Flint, MI, brought on by a bridge collapsin', plant explodin' right- wing Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, illustrates a larger problem. He launches from a comment by Sen. Marco "Glug Glug" Rubio (R-MIAmi), whose affinity for water is well known, saying he (Glug Glug) hadn't focused on or been briefed about the crisis.  It's worth an extended excerpt:

Let me give Senator Rubio a refresher course. Michigan officials, who commandeered control of Flint’s local government through a disenfranchising emergency-manager process that suspiciously lines up with the main concentrations of African-Americans in the state, decided to temporarily use water from the Flint River for residential consumption while awaiting a new pipeline to Lake Huron. This was done to save money—to balance Flint’s budget, much like the persistent calls from Rubio and his Republican allies with respect to the federal budget.

The water from the Flint River was dirty, unfit for drinking or washing, and it corroded the lead-based service lines distributing water to 99,000 citizens. Residents immediately complained about the foul-smelling, bad-tasting water. It turned out the entire city suffered lead poisoning, as research demonstrated, for well over a year, with toxicity levels 13,000 times above a safe reading. The emergency manager in Flint, state environmental officials (who failed to properly treat the water), and Governor Snyder ignored this as long as they could, even withholding information from the public.

None of this is worth knowing about, according to Marco Rubio. He can’t be bothered with the mass contamination of an American city—not when the public is potentially, hypothetically unsafe from ISIS! Never mind the fact that you’re more likely to be hit by lightning or crushed by furniture than killed in a terrorist attack.  [snip]

Indeed, as the Flint crisis shows, you are far more likely to be killed as a result of conservative austerity and deregulatory policies. Not only are they self-defeating when it comes to infrastructure—Michigan has already paid far more for the Flint disaster than it ever saved from temporarily re-routing the city’s water supply—but basing policy priorities on cost-cutting rather than human need inevitably leads to choosing winners and losers, and not in a benign way.  (our emphasis)

Of course, as Dayen points out, Glug Glug is right in the mainstream of his party's attachment to laissez faire (except when it comes to deregulation and tax cuts for corporations and plutocrats, and control over ladyparts) government.  It's in the Republican/ New Confederate/ Stupid/ Shooter's Party DNA.

Today's "Hair" Perry Cartoons

Texas dimbulb Gov. Rick "Hair" Perry (Rethug-BOOM!) is fast becoming the political cartoonists' greatest friend.  He recently criticized an editorial cartoon in the Sacramento Bee for drawing attention to his laissez-faire, "e coli / bridge collapse conservative" deregulation policies that many are blaming for the recent catastrophic fertilizer plant explosion.  First, here's a well-placed shot at the defender of the public his sacred reputation (click to enlarge):

(Jen Sorensen, via gocomics.com)

Now, here's the cartoon "Hair" Perry was offended by (but not nearly as much as we are offended by him):

 (Jack Ohman, Sacramento Bee)

E Coli Conservatism On The Rise

The headlong drive for far-right Rethug legislators to gut health, safety and environmental regulations in order to benefit the bottom lines of their corporate donors is underway. Georgia Rethug Rep. Jack "Jackass" Kingston wants Feds to lay off the private sector, who "self police" themselves, according to Jackass Kingston. Riiiiiight! When the bottom line trumps every other consideration (see, BP oil spill, Massey Coal Co., etc.), why not trust the corporate biggies to do the right thing?

Another reason why we need to take Congress back from these amoral SOBs.