Houston's Toxic Mess Is A Harbinger For Florida

As we focus on the disaster that Irma has left in its wake in Florida, it’s easy to forget that the disaster continues in Houston. And the unfortunate reality is that what happens in Houston is a harbinger for what Florida will face in the coming days, weeks, and months ahead.

As I wrote in the aftermath of Harvey, the real disaster facing Houston comes with the recovery, when the realization that homes would have to be razed because of black mold or never rebuilt because the owners had no flood insurance and the extent of the toxic, environmental disaster confronting the Houston area becomes clear.

The NY Times today has an article detailing just how bad the toxic mess is in Houston as the failure of waste treatment plants and the flooding and failures of the numerous chemical plants, such as the Arkema plant, essentially leached toxins and hazardous waste across the city. Water on one of the city’s parkways contained E. coli levels over four times the levels considered safe. One home showed levels 135 times those safe levels as well as containing arsenic, lead, and other toxic chemicals.

Hospitals are seeing a rise in staph, cellulitis, and other infections. Mold is exploding across the city, contributing to asthma and other respiratory problems. According to one expert, “Mold is taking off all over the city. People with allergies or asthma are particularly sensitive to it. If people have bad headaches, respiratory problems, swelling of a limb or a bad rash, go see a doctor right away. Don’t assume it will go away on its own.”

Based on voluntary reports by some companies in the aftermath of the storm, one environmental group estimates that over one million pounds of seven of the most dangerous pollutants were released during the storm. Fifteen police officers were hospitalized after breathing fumes for the explosion of peroxides at the Arkema plant. Houston was put under an ozone warning as releases from petrochemical plants had raised levels ten times what is deemed safe. Texas Governor Abbott has suspended the requirement that companies provide air pollution reports, meaning that we will never know what pollutants and how much of them were released during the storm.

As the Houston Chronicle reports, the dangers will continue even as the area recovers. OSHA has suspended inspections in the Houston area, meaning that there will be no oversight of these facilities as they begin to start back up, the most dangerous time for these kinds of plants. According to the Chronicle, “Restarting a chemical plant or refinery already is the most dangerous period in the life of a plant, because it entails regenerating complex chains of chemical reactions that require a perfect balance to prevent uncontrolled releases and explosions”. 

One former OSHA official says, “Will (companies) be offering bonuses and other incentives to speed the restart? How many normal procedures will be loosened because it’s an emergency situation? How much overtime will workers be required to work and what kind of fatigue factors will they be dealing with? Will chemical exposures be overlooked because it’s an emergency? How are they going to deal with safety issues if some instruments … will not work prior to restart?” All of these are represent more potential disasters and toxic releases to come.

Needless to say, the EPA and Texas authorities have provided no details on the levels of toxicity in and around the city, although they have warned about the dangers in general. As people desperately try to save some of their belongings and rebuild their lives, ignorance about the levels of toxicity surrounding them will jeopardize their health and lives for years to come.

Sadly, while Florida does not have the same concentration of chemical plants as the Houston area, it will confront many of the same problems associated with sewage and mold and toxicity. And they will be confronting the very same problems that Houston is trying to deal with today and in the days ahead, probably with the same lack of information from authorities and the same levels of ignorance about the potential dangers surrounding them.