Stench from waste facility overwhelms Calif. town
Summary:
A town in California called Mecca, a poor, working class town, recently had an air quality issue. The town had a "rotten egg" type smell. The smell was so strong and disgusting, that it made people drop to their knees when they smelled it. When authorities investigated, they traced back the smell to a tribal soil recycling facility. The facility is known as Western Enviormental Incorporation and is located on an Indian reservation. The company treats dirt laced petroleum, heavy metals and other chemicals that are considered hazardous materials in California. They then ordered the recycling company to stop opperating, and searched to make sure no hazardous materials were being released. Though, the comunity fears once the media stops paying attention, the company will go back to realeasing the horrible smell.
Reaction:
I think this plant should be shut down. There is no excuse for a company to still be in buisness to hurt the community. The materials that they are releasing are also illegal. The authorities did the right thing by shutting down the plant to investigate. If the company goes back to realeasing the horrible smell again, the owner should be arrested for violating state laws. I can relate this to the Denora incident. Peoplee are getting sick from the air that contains pollutants from a factory.
Questions:
How is this different then Denora?
What can the government do to help the people?
If the company goes back to polluting the air, what shall be done?
What can the community do?
Is there anything we can do from Pennsylvania to help?
I think what this company has done is horrible. They probably knew that what they were doing was bad for the environment and human populations, but did it anyway. I hope the government finds a way to prosecute them. I also hope none of the people were severly injured or killed in this incident. It is a real debbie downer that some people haven't learned from the incident in Donora.
ReplyDeleteQuestions:
1. Can The EPA prosecute the company?
2. How well does the EPA regulate plants like this?
3. Is there any harmful pollutants, like fluroide, that could kill people?
I think this is completely unacceptable. No community should have to suffer from the direct emissions of a company just because the industry wants to make money. This company should either find a way to recycle their soil without its horrid smell, or they should be immediately shut down. If the government doesn't stop this now, then more and more industries will think that there is nothing wrong with emitting disgusting smells into the air. I hope that no new diseases of any sort are created by this.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of when I visited Machu Picchu when I was younger. The air in the cities also smelled very bad and if I were to breathe too much of it, I could've gotten sick. However, this smell was not emitted by a company, rather than just a reaction to being high in the mountains.
Question 2: The government can do a few things to help the community. Other than order a petition to shut down the company, the government could also send more paramedics to ensure safety of the community. It could also work with Western Enviormental Incorporation to find a solution to the smell and perhaps find an alternative emission, one that is safer and healthier. However, all of these possibilities would take a lot of money, so they might not happen.