Spill at Kansas chemical plant causes 'smoke,' evacuations
Source: AP
ATCHISON, Kan. (AP) Authorities say a chemical plant spill has caused a noxious cloud to form over a northeastern Kansas community, prompting the evacuation of a school and the factory.
The spill occurred Friday morning at the MGP Ingredients plant in Atchison, 50 miles northwest of Kansas City.
Atchison County Emergency Manager Wes Lanter says "smoke" coming from the plant poses a breathing threat.
The St. Joseph News Press reports (http://j.mp/2eOP1do ) that one school was evacuated and several canceled classes or kept students and staff inside. The Kansas Dept. of Transportation has closed U.S. Highways 59 and 73 and Kansas Highway 7 until further notification.
Read more: https://apnews.com/e6f2030490394643ad30978de6d0979b?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=AP
https://twitter.com/KCTV5/status/789497072818847744
forest444
(5,902 posts)Governor Browncrack and the board of MGP should be forced to breathe in this air until the crisis is resolved. Anything less would constitute a moral hazard.
mahatmakanejeeves
(57,600 posts)Last edited Fri Oct 21, 2016, 01:15 PM - Edit history (3)
Re: "Ah, the wonders of neocon-style capitalism."
Chernobyl disaster
Edward Burtynsky
In the photo above, it looks like a war torn city where the buildings have all been reduced to rubble. However thats not how it happened. This is part of the Three Gorges Dam project in China, the people who used to live here disassembled their city by hand, brick by brick. In fact I think Burtynsky said in the TED talk below that they were even paid per brick. Now that the dam is finished and the reservoir is full, this is all under water, along with a few other cities and even some very old temples. I cant imagine what that would have been like, to be told to move out, take apart your own home, and have your history submerged in water. Im sure they were told it was for the good of their country etc but I dont think that would have helped if it were my home and my past.
Here is a similar picture from another source. It's from Edward Burtynsky's "Manufactured Landscapes."
forest444
(5,902 posts)The distinction was between a modern market democracy with a strong regulatory framework, and Brownback's brand of robber baron-era kleptocracy.
Eugene
(61,945 posts)Source: Reuters
Previous headline at link: Cloud from chemical accident in Kansas dissipated: city officials
Dozens treated after chemical accident in northeastern Kansas
By Dave Kaup | ATCHISON, KANSAS
Dozens of people were treated for respiratory problems after a chemical spill at an MGP Ingredients Inc facility on Friday generated a chemical cloud over the northeastern Kansas city of Atchison before authorities declared the threat over.
Authorities evacuated children from local schools, urged residents to remain in their homes and advised people not to enter the city of about 11,000 people located about 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Kansas City, Kansas. They later said the cloud had dissipated and the danger had passed.
The two chemicals involved in the spill were identified by a city official as sulfuric acid and sodium hypochlorite. MGP Ingredients makes bourbon and rye whiskeys, gins and vodkas, according to its website.
"The cloud was massive," Atchison Fire Department Chief Ted Graf said. "I'm not even sure how to describe it."
Thirty-four people were treated for respiratory discomfort after the spill although the injuries were minor, Trey Cocking, Atchison city manager, told reporters. Cocking described the effects of the chemical cloud as being like mustard gas, a chemical weapon.
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-kansas-chemicalspill-idUSKCN12L1ZG