Chevron: The Toxic Threat Next Door

[xchrom]

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/08/18-2

When the fire broke out at the Chevron oil refinery in Richmond, California last week, this is what families living nearby–including some of our own staff at Green For All–experienced: Their windows rattled and their houses shook. Some of them watched fiery explosions and plumes of dark smoke pour from the refinery. Others just heard the frightening wail of the city’s emergency sirens. They gathered up their children and pets, covered their mouths and noses, and scrambled to seal their doors and windows.

Across the Bay, San Francisco residents watched as a toxic black cloud billowed over Richmond–a city in which 85 percent of the residents are minorities and roughly one-quarter live below the poverty line.

In the days after the fire, more than 9,000 people poured into emergency rooms, complaining of nausea, headaches, and breathing problems. Chevron, meanwhile, offered an apology for the “disruption.”

I wish that were enough. Enough to erase the terror that workers and families experienced that day. Enough to prevent the potentially long-term illnesses they face as a result of breathing those toxic fumes. And I wish it were enough to undo the health problems that Richmond’s families have faced for years.

[PDJane]

1. No amount of cash will cover the damage to our planet.

If they won't control the dangers that their plundering does, they should have their ability to put us all in peril revoked.