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Process spills and dumping
July 18, 2007
Two news story lines caught my eyes in the last couple of days because they involve our industries:
First, the nuclear power plant in Japan that got shaken up in an earthquake is trying to decide how problematic the leaks of various radioactive products are. It sounds like all safety procedures worked as planned (which is reassuring) and apparently nothing of any consequence has been released. Followup (I won't say fallout) from this incident will certainly influence the discussions of whether new nuclear plants should be built again in the U.S. It was a 6.6 magnitude earthquake, so it was enough to get your attention, but the plant seemed to take it reasonably well. The U.S. has apparently offered "technical assistance," but I'm sure they can take care of it locally.
Second, the Chicago Tribune says BP is trying to dump more ammonia and "sludge" into Lake Michigan from their Whiting, IN, refinery. (Full disclosure: The water supply for Control Engineering offices and my personal residence comes from Lake Michigan.) This is part of their upgrade program to reconfigure the plant to handle heavy Canadian crudes. According to the article, under the new higher permit that BP is seeking, the refinery will be allowed to dump 1,584 lb. of ammonia and 4,925 lb. of sludge into the lake every day.
BP, on the other hand, says the Tribune got it wrong. You can read their response. They claim they don't dump "sludge" at all.
It will be interesting to see where this goes. BP has a lot of PR polishing to do with consumers and within our industry. Information released in the aftermath of the Texas City disaster gives us good reason to be cynical.
Posted by Peter Welander on July 18, 2007 | Comments (0)