Hospitals & Asylums
Styrene Leak and Evacuation HA-29-8-05
Dear Mayor Luken:
A. As the result of the Styrene
leak in Cincinnati, Ohio I have several questions regarding Styrene for SIRC to
possibly help in the criminal investigation and safe resolution and disposal of
the styrene leak that has led the City of Cincinnati to enforce the
international crime of enforced relocation of 900 people who are now safely
house by the Red Cross or friends and in need of compensation of $1,000 per
head to uphold the standards of the Un Security Council International
Compensation Commission and offset the inconvenience of relocation and in many
cases time lost from work.
B. The questions for SIRC and
other environmental protections agents are as follows.
1. Is there a chemical reaction that
a human could have used to cause the styrene that had been wrongfully stored
for seven months in a railway car to overheat?
2. Is this more likely to have
been caused by the decomposition of the styrene in a closed container?
3. Is
there a chemical reaction that could cause the styrene to cool down to
manageable temperatures?
4. Is there a safe and effective
method for the disposable of this load of styrene?
C. The
Cincinnati Enquirer report written by Dan Klepal and William
A. Weathers that, Mayor Charlie Luken said he has
decided to keep the area around
D. Luken said city officials likely will be dealing
with the incident for weeks. He said the rail car could continue emitting fumes
for up to 11 days. But the evacuation is unlikely to last that long. "You
can't stick a dip stick in there and find out how much is left," Luken said. "But this is going to continue to emit a
plume of smoke for a long time, maybe a week-and-a-half." Luken said the city's expenses, thus far, have amounted to
about $1 million. He said the city will try to recover every penny -- from
manufacturer Westlake Chemicals, from Indiana & Ohio Railroad, or whoever
else could be responsible. "We're keeping careful track of all of our costs,"
he said. "We haven't determined liability, but we're working on it and
that will be priority No. 1 in the long-term."
E. Luken said the biggest air pollution concern is in
the area of Eastern and Carroll avenues. "We don't have levels that will
make people unhealthy, but it's like smelling gasoline, if you smell it, it
could make you sick." Luken said the city is working on a plan to allow business
owners back into their offices on an application basis, to save inventory or
for other emergencies.
F. Roads remain closed in and around
Luken said the device is allowing officials to
determine if the car is cooling off or heating up. If the car cools this
afternoon, the mayor could decide to shrink the evacuation area and allow some
of the residents back in the 814 evacuated properties.
G. At the morning press conference Luken said that
there is still no explanation about how or why the rail car full of styrene – a
synthetic chemical used to make plastic – sat unattended on the railroad tracks
for months before it started leaking Sunday night.
Luken said he met with officials from the rail yard
and Westlake Chemicals, the Houston-based company that manufactured the
styrene, and asked those questions.
“They will not answer that question, or they profess not to know,” Luken said. “That means they are not being forthcoming. I
told them: Wal-Mart can track a pair of socks, and you guys can’t track a rail
car full of dangerous chemicals?”
H. Cincinnati firefighters have been trying to cool the rail car since Sunday
night by spraying the outside with water. Today, they added another
approach. Because the railcar is
double-walled, firefighters can use a device known as a coupler to spray water
between the two walls so it won't mix with the styrene. The fire department purchased
the special device, called a “thermal coupler,” that allows them to precisely
direct the water between the car’s walls. That approach should be more
effective at cooling the chemical inside the car, said District Fire Chief Dave
Collini, who added that today's rain has been both
help and a hindrance.
I. Mayor Charlie Luken said he has decided to keep the area around
J. Readings today showed the temperature of the styrene inside the rail car was
between 220 and 230 degrees. Luken said city officials likely will be dealing with the
incident for weeks. He said the rail car could continue emitting fumes for up
to 11 days. But the evacuation is unlikely to last that long. "You can't
stick a dip stick in there and find out how much is left," Luken said. "But this is going to continue to emit a
plume of smoke for a long time, maybe a week-and-a-half."
K. Luken said the city's expenses, thus far, have
amounted to about $1 million. He said the city will try to recover every penny
-- from manufacturer Westlake Chemicals, from Indiana & Ohio Railroad, or
whoever else could be responsible.
"We're keeping careful track of all of our costs," he said.
"We haven't determined liability, but we're working on it and that will be
priority No. 1 in the long-term."
L. Luken said the biggest air pollution concern is in
the area of Eastern and Carroll avenues. "We don't have levels that will
make people unhealthy, but it's like smelling gasoline, if you smell it, it
could make you sick." Luken said the city is working on a plan to allow business
owners back into their offices on an application basis, to save inventory or
for other emergencies. Roads remain
closed in and around
M. Luken said the device is allowing officials to
determine if the car is cooling off or heating up. If the car cools this
afternoon, the mayor could decide to shrink the evacuation area and allow some
of the residents back in the 814 evacuated properties.
At the morning press conference Luken said that there
is still no explanation about how or why the rail car full of styrene – a
synthetic chemical used to make plastic – sat unattended on the railroad tracks
for months before it started leaking Sunday night.
Luken said he met with officials from the rail yard
and Westlake Chemicals, the Houston-based company that manufactured the
styrene, and asked those questions.
N. “They will not answer that question, or they profess not to know,” Luken said. “That means they are not being forthcoming. I
told them: Wal-Mart can track a pair of socks, and you guys can’t track a rail
car full of dangerous chemicals?”
O. According to OSHA Styrene is classified as a possible human carcinogen by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Styrene is primarily a synthetic chemical that is used extensively in the manufacture of plastics, rubber, and resins. About 90,000 workers, including those who make boats, tubs, and showers, are potentially exposed to styrene. It is also known as vinylbenzene, ethenylbenzene, cinnamene, or phenylethylene.
P. The Styrene Information and
Q. In a SIRC-sponsored study, Dr. Martin Alexander of
R. In conclusion, the evacuees
will be entitled to at least a $1 million settlement from the corporations, as
will the City and experts for their work.
Thank you for your time and any relevant information sent to Mayor Luken.
Styrene Information and Resource
Center at sirc@styrene.org
Settlement Inclusion Request HA-7-9-05
Dear Charlie Luken:
I am writing to ensure
that my request to be included in the Styrene Leak Settlement is
clear, as it is not in the notice HA-29-8-05 http://www.title24uscode.org/styrene.htm
I object the private settlement of
your public debt to me as requested in the trial of the Cincinnati
Mayoral Candidates HA-27-7-05 http://www.title24uscode.org/HBElections.htm.
For an ethical claim against
the private corporations whose negligence was nearly certainly
sabotaged by criminal elements in our local justice
system hoping to score yet another insurance settlement from Hospitals
& Asylums, who shut down the arson business, for a while. The City of
You are paying me for the work
done on the Cincinnati War Crime Tribunal valued at $5 million in
settlement by the City of Cincinnati for the victims, their families and
administrator of the Global Settlement compensating the public
for Cincinnati Police brutality, that is not as great a shame a the
corrections of the Hamilton County Judiciary that go unpunished. The
unclosed tribunal can be found at HA-8-8-04 http://www.title24uscode.org/Warcrimetable.htm.
You had better update the Labor
Management Agreement before you retire or you will go down in history a well
spoken politician who never settled the crimes of the force that are sure
to haunt him to his dying day.
In your petition
to US Congress do not go the Homeland Security Committee because you would only
be hiring more terrorists for our town.
I recommend the Committee on Commerce for this case so as to bring
down the $1,000 a month to the refugees of Hurricane Katrina.
I am asking for $1,000 myself,
although I will go as high as $2,500 to be an member
of the expert panel reviewing, and/or preparing the Hamilton County Corrections
report. No “criminal” investigators
please.
Sincerely,
Tony Sanders
Hospitals & Asylums
513-281-3029