Hydrogen Cyanide….It Isn’t Just for Delaware City Refinery Anymore.
As you may remember, awhile back we reported about the release of Hydrogen Cyanide at the Delaware City Refinery. The facility had just reopened on Friday, October 7, and on Tuesday, October 18, we blogged about the almost daily report of this chemical being released from the refinery.
As it turns out, Hydrogen Cyanide releases aren’t just reserved for the folks up in Delaware. On February 18, our SkyTruth Alerts system reported a release of this same nasty chemical at a manufacturing facility just outside of Victoria, TX. According to the NRC report, 15 lbs of Hydrogen Cyanide as well as 140 pounds of Anhydrous Ammonia were released from the Invista manufacturing facility due to the hydrogen convertors shutting down. They’re still not sure what caused the convertors to shut down at this point.
According to Invista’s website, ‘you can find Invista inside the fibers of your carpet or rug, the bristles on your toothbrush and the fabric in your clothing.’ And their nylon fibers and plastics are ‘in your car, your office chair, your kitchen appliances, and even your sports equipment.’
This facility in Texas is just 9 miles away from Victoria, TX and just 4 miles away from Bloomington, TX. Victoria has a population of over 86,800, and Bloomington boasts over 2600 residents. That’s a lot of nice people who may be breathing in some nasty junk.