Is Your Hometown Safe from Chemical Disaster?

Posted: 02-Dec-2003; Updated: 05-Jan-2004

On the morning of September 11, 2001, Mike Marcotte, the chief engineer at the Blue Plains Sewage Treatment Facility in Washington, D.C., was especially anxious because he knew something that much of the American public did not: The plant had several rail cars of chlorine gas that would make an enticing target for terrorists. An attack on the tanks might release a toxic cloud that could jeopardize more than 1.7 million D.C. area residents.

Chlorine is commonly used to remove contaminants from sewage before the treated waste is discharged into local waterways. Chlorine gas is a powerful chemical that can burn the eyes and skin and inflame the lungs, and is fatal in high concentrations. (It was used as a chemical weapon by Germany in World War I.) There are thousands of wastewater treatment facilities scattered across the United States, many of which use chlorine gas in their operations. Some of these facilities are located in heavily populated areas, putting millions of Americans at risk from a chemical disaster waiting to happen.

Blue Plains Sewage Treatment Facility in Washington, D.C.

Fortunately, Marcotte and his colleagues at Blue Plains acted quickly and put together a rational, low-cost plan for eliminating the hazards. Blue Plains expedited its plans to get rid of the source of the problem and replace it with a safer substitute -- sodium hypochlorite -- to disinfect the wastewater. Using the safer chemical adds about 25 cents to the average customer's annual bill, but Marcotte considers this a bargain for the peace of mind that comes from knowing the community is safe from terrorist attacks, operational mishaps and catastrophic accidents. In addition, many sewage plants have received low-cost government loans or grants to reduce the capital costs of the conversion.

Concerned Citizens Come Together

As the Blue Plains story shows, switching from chlorine to a safer alternative is affordable and practical. So how many other companies have made the switch or are thinking of making the switch? What are the risks posed to Americans by wastewater treatments plants that persist in using dangerous chemicals, and what urban areas are in danger? To answer these questions, Environmental Defense galvanized a coalition of citizen and environmental groups to investigate available public information provided by the facility (e.g. the facilities' own findings). Out of their investigation came our new report Eliminating Hometown Hazards: Cutting Chemical Risks at Wastewater Treatment Facilities. Among their findings:

Thirteen wastewater plants have successfully substituted safer alternatives; now, more than 20 million people who were once at risk from chemical releases at nearby wastewater facilities are safer (see Good Neighbors below).
18 million Americans remain at risk from facilities that continue to use chlorine gas in heavily populated areas.
An accident at any one of five facilities could each affect more than one million residents (see "Bad Neighbors" below).
An accident at any one of 39 other wastewater treatment facilities would each affect 100,000 to 1,000,000 people.

Public's Right to Know in Jeopardy

Some plants have been spurred to switch to safer chemicals by a law passed in 1990 that requires facilities storing a certain amount of dangerous chemicals to assess the risks in case of a sudden release of toxic chemicals and to submit a plan to prevent such an occurrence. Public access to information about the potential consequences of a chemical release has proven to be one of the most effective tools for minimizing those risks.

"Public access to this information is now available on a restricted basis, but the public's right to know about risks in their own communities is under threat of being eliminated entirely by some in Congress," says Environmental Defense expert Carol Andress, author of the new report. In reality, plans that companies submit provide little helpful information to those wishing to do harm.

"Instead of hiding hazard information, Congress should require plants to stop using dangerous chemicals that place millions of Americans at risk," says Andress. "In addition, government officials should stop using taxpayers' money for any wastewater facility that continues to use chlorine gas in populated areas. Finally, Congress needs to enact federal standards for reducing hazards." One bill that would have done just that, the Chemical Security Act, has stalled in Congress, where it has met with opposition from the chemcial industry.

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