VitalAccurateThinking

The Media and Chemical Companies

This is why I dislike the media's dumbed down coverage of chemical companies.

"It was a real strong smell of burning plastic," she said.

Um, no. Styrene does not smell like burning plastic. It is more sickly sweet. I worked 10 years for a company that processed and used styrene on a daily basis. The thing about styrene is it makes you nauseated at very low concentrations and has an odor threshold in the <10 parts-per-billion.

This is what I find so objectionable:

John Hughes, secretary of the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, said first responders reported that the leak was a result of a defective valve on a railroad tanker car carrying 20,000 pounds of styrene. Officials believed the cause was a buildup of pressure in the tanker, he said.

Sorry, a defective relief valve does not cause a buildup in pressure with a product like styrene. More likely, the styrene was polymerizing which, in styrene, is a chemical reaction that gives off heat (exothermic). I am surprised because most styrene is transported inhibited so it will not polymerize. In fact, I suspect it is against the law to transport uninhibited styrene due to problems just like this.

Regardless, the media needs to do a better job of describing what is going on with specific instances and also understand the thousands of hazardous material shipments that are made by chemical companies each year. The public should also be aware of how much their lives depend upon chemical companies before condemning them like it always seems to do.

posted by Jim VAT @ 6:26 PM