Municipal and state governments should initiate programs to compile comprehensive lists of dangerous chemicals within their borders and, in cases where reporting processes are in place, ensure that the lists being maintained are accurate.
An Associated Press investigative report last week found more than 120 facilities with dangerous chemicals in 28 states that were within potentially devastating blast zones of school children, the elderly and the sick. The AP looked at hazardous materials storage in the wake of the April 18 explosion at the West Fertilizer Company in West, Texas.
As startling as AP's findings were, of equal concern is the lack of availability of this type of information to residents in many states, and inaccuracies in some of the data that is on file in areas that did provide information to the AP.
Fears of terrorism have led to a lot of states shutting down any information about possible dangerous chemicals that might be at an industrial site. In the case of the West, Texas, explosion, the AP reported, many people in the town had no knowledge of the chemicals that were stored there or how dangerous they were. Even the EMS director who responded to the fire told the Associated Press "we never thought of an explosive potential."
But even when information was available, the AP found, it wasn't always reliable. The AP noted that some companies said they did not have the chemicals on site that documents obtained by the AP said were there. In other cases, more dangerous chemicals than were noted on lists were at the sites.
Hospitals, schools and residential neighborhoods were all located within potential blast zones. The AP report found more than 600,000 people living within a quarter mile of a facility.
People have a right to know if the factory down the road routinely stores or uses dangerous chemicals. Emergency workers likewise should have up-to-date information on what is located within a facility in the event of an emergency.
The blast in Texas, and the follow-up report looking at the problem by the Associated Press, indicate that states and local governments have a lot of work. For some, that means compiling lists and helping make sure safety and emergency workers are aware of potential dangers. For others, that means looking at existing lists and making sure that the information they contains is accurate.
In every case, though, more needs to be done to ensure residents are aware of the dangers that are lurking in their own backyards.
