Marathon Petroleum y una ciudad de Texas muestran una potencial crisis de comunicaciones sobre sustancias químicas

En los últimos tres años, Marathon ha violado repetidamente la ley de Aire Limpio y tuvo tres emergencias en el semestre de febrero a julio de 2023.

HOUSTON- El 27 de junio de 2023 la oficina de gestión de emergencias de Texas City emitió una toque de queda tras una fuga de dióxido de azufre de la refinería de Marathon Galveston Bay.

Para ver el aviso, los vecinos tenían que chequear las redes sociales de los funcionarios o haberse preinscrito al sistema de alertas de emergencias de la ciudad. Con estas limitaciones, hay dudas de que la gente recibiera el mensaje a tiempo. La gente que no habla inglés tenía que depender de traducciones de las redes sociales o esperar que la alerta estuviera bien traducida.

Este video documenta la fuga de dióxido de azufre, un incendio químico que causó una muerte en mayo y una electrocución que causó otra muerte en febrero.

Marathon tiene una larga historia en Texas City. Los registros que usamos para evaluar las violaciones de la Agencia de Protección Ambiental (EPA) o la Comisión de la Calidad Ambiental de Texas (TCEQ) en Texas City están disponibles aquí.

Los registros de violaciones de la refinería de Marathon Galveston Bay de OSHA, la Administración de Salud y Seguridad en Trabajo están disponibles aquí.

La línea de tiempo a continuación incluye más detalles sobre cada evento.


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