From: Regina Hendrix <regina1936@verizon.net>
To: Maya Nye <peopleconcernedaboutmic@gmail.com>
Cc: All of FOM list
<fom@lists.riseup.net>; WV Chapter Energy Committee <EC@osenergy.org>
Sent: Monday, October 27, 2008 11:01:07 PM
Subject: Re: [EC] MIC Leak in September
Maya:
Oh, my God, we have to do something about this. We can't let this
pass. We are sitting ducks here in Kanawha Valley. Expendable people.
Another Bhopal in the making.
Regina
Maya Nye wrote:
> Bayer Communication Issues Continue, County Officials Say
>
> Posted: 5:15 PM Oct 27, 2008
> Last Updated: 7:32 PM Oct 27, 2008
> Reporter: Mike Waterhouse
> Email Address:
mike.waterhouse@wsaz.com > <
http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/mailto:mike.waterhouse@wsaz.com?subject=Bayer%20Communication%20Issues%20Continue,%20County%20Officials%20Say>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> A
> <
http://gray.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=Bayer+Communication+Issues+Continue%2C+County+Officials+Say+&expire=&urlID=32005986&fb=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wsaz.com%2Fnews%2Fheadlines%2F33401989.html&partnerID=98846#> | A
> <
http://gray.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=Bayer+Communication+Issues+Continue%2C+County+Officials+Say+&expire=&urlID=32005986&fb=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wsaz.com%2Fnews%2Fheadlines%2F33401989.html&partnerID=98846#> | A
> <
http://gray.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=Bayer+Communication+Issues+Continue%2C+County+Officials+Say+&expire=&urlID=32005986&fb=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wsaz.com%2Fnews%2Fheadlines%2F33401989.html&partnerID=98846#>
>
> KANAWHA COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- Kanawha County's emergency services
> director says he should
have been informed about a minor situation
> involving the chemical MIC at the Bayer CropScience Plant in Institute.
>
> In fact, county officials say the first they heard about it is when
>
WSAZ.com contacted them about it.
>
>
> MIC, short for methyl isocyanate, is an extremely toxic chemical used
> in the production of some pesticides.
>
> Tom Dover, spokesperson for Bayer, confirms a tank associated with MIC
> storage was opened during inspections in the west side of the plant,
> but says the amount of chemical leaked was far below reporting levels.
> The situation happened near the end of September.
>
> Workers took action after smelling the odor of MIC, which Dover says
> has a strong smell even at very low levels. Employees then left the
> area and several were checked out at the plant's
medical facility. One
> contractor then decided on his own to go to an outside hospital after
> his shift. Dover says he was released with nothing found.
>
> Dover tells WSAZ.com there was no harmful exposure of MIC to employees
> or anyone outside the plant. He called this a "non-incident" because
> the levels were not anywhere near dangerous levels.
>
> "At no point was anyone in danger," Dover said.
>
> Dover adds that Bayer would have notified county officials "without
> hesitation" had the amount of MIC reached reportable levels.
>
> Dale Petry, Kanawha County Emergency Services Director, says he's a
> little disturbed that he didn't know about this situation, even if the
> amount of MIC involved did not meet a reportable level.
>
> "I wish I had known about it," said Petry. "Let me make the decision
> whether it should be reported to
the public."
>
> Petry says he doesn't think this latest incident will hurt the
> county's relationship with the plant. He wants to continue to work
> with Bayer to improve communication.
>
> Bayer came under fire for its lack of communication to the county
> after an explosion at its Larvin unit in early September. Two workers
> died as a result of the blast. Kanawha County officials say Bayer
> waited hours to release any detailed information about the severity of
> the incident.
>
> As a result of having little information, county officials issued a
> shelter-in-place for the western portion of Kanawha County, affecting
> thousands of people.
>
> Bayer later admitted that it should have provided better information
> during the explosion and agreed to change its notification system.
>
>
>
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