Dallas is once again seeing smoke outside the city, but this time the smoke may be dangerous. The chemical plant at Waxahachie may have dangerous chemicals going up in the smoke.
A nearby grade school and other businesses have been evacuated. At this time the fire departments say the fire is 80% controlled. The toxic chemical being blown down wind is 48,630 lbs of anhydrous ammonia 48,630 lbs.
At this point we have no idea what caused the fire, and the emergency response seems to be adequate.
What I would like to explore is the current Republican mantra of less regulation and lower taxes that is their answer to every problem besetting the nation now.
Texas has made a point of attracting business with lower taxes, fewer regulations, fewer labor unions, and lower wages.
That is what attracted Union Carbide to start a plant in Bohpal India. On December 23, 1984 Bhopal became the site of the greatest industrial disaster in history. A chemical reaction occurred which released about 40 tons of Methyl Isocyanate. This toxic chemical is twice as heavy as air and spread down wind killing about 4,000 people in their sleep and causing great harm to another 400,000 that breathed the gas.
http://www1.american.edu/ted/bhopal.htmThe Waxahachie fire will probably not spread toxic chemicals all the way to Dallas which is 32 miles away, or to the communities of Desoto or Duncunville on the way. But I wonder why an elementary school was allowed to be right next door to the plant?
The claim that rules and regulations are bad for jobs, is a myth that has been repeated a million times until it is folklore. It is still false. Regulations do not increase the cost. They actually reduce the overall cost to society by preventing health problems and by avoiding disasters.
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/10...Republicans claim that regulations are what is keeping businesses from hiring more people and that we need less of them. Obama has even echoed that talking point. President Obama on January 18th "ordered a government wide review of federal regulations in an effort to improve or potentially repeal outdated, burdensome and inefficient rules that could be stifling private sector job growth."
I think the big difference between the parties is that Republicans hate ALL regulations, even those necessary to protect the health and safety of the public, while Obama just wants to get rid of the ones that are unnecessary and burdensome.
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0111/011...This is a crucial difference that is made worse by the budget and the Congress, which controls the purse strings of the regulatory agencies. The Republicans if they can't eliminate regulations starve the agencies of the funds necessary to carry out the laws.
What the Republicans fail to realize is that every rule and regulation was put there for a reason. Yes it may cost a lot for a blow out preventer, but how much did the BP oil spill cost? Obama got BP to agree to a $20 damage fund but before that, BP was only liable for $75 million in damages because the oil industries were able to pay off the lawmakers.
The disastrous quake that destroyed Haiti was made a thousand times worse because they were one of the most corrupt governments in the world and the contractors avoided common sense rules like reinforcing in the concrete, by bribing inspectors and lawmakers to save money. This is the type of America the Republicans want. This is a world with few rules and regulation.
http://exchange.causes.com/2011/01/one-y... Massey Energy is notorious for being anti union and for cutting corners. They would have spent much less if they had followed the safety protocols then they did having to close down the mine after the explosion that killed 25 miners in West Virginia.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/06...Wall Street has spent hundreds of millions to fight regulations that would prevent another financial meltdown. They spent $26 million and had five lobbyists for every member of congress.
Their lobbying was able to water down the financial regulation bill so it couldn't really prevent a meltdown, but they are continuing their lobbying to prevent even the meager consumer protections from being implemented. Now the Republicans are refusing to give any money for implementation of the law.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/23...We don't know yet whether the fire at the chemical plant in Waxahachie, could have been avoided. We don't know if they avoided safety rules and regulations as Massey Energy did. We don't know if they set up the plant there because Texas had fewer safety regulations.
What we do know is that Texas is becoming the China of America. Factories are moving there to avoid regulations, and because the pollution laws are not as stringent. We can expect many more "accidents" like the chemical plant in Waxahachie.
The Republicans are trying to eliminate the EPA, but I bet the people around Waxahachie are glad they were there to monitor the air quality and determine if this was another Bhopal or not. Fortunately in this case it was not and no toxic chemicals were found in the smoke.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/03/us/texas-c...A life without trust, and without the protection of the government will be the future of America if the Republicans have their way and win the next election.
http://www.dailypaul.com/134249/bp-oil-r...