Hazardous chemicals pose secret threat to Houston neighbors
All over America and across greater Houston, capital of the nation's petrochemical industry, hundreds of chemicals pose serious threats to public safety at facilities that may be unknown to most neighbors and are largely unpoliced by government at all levels, a yearlong Houston Chronicle (http://bit.ly/1VSg45P) investigation reveals.
OSHA doesn't inspect most facilities; when it does, it's often due to an accident or complaint. The EPA ignores entire classes of hazardous chemicals when looking at which sites to scrutinize. Texas and other states have made accessing information about chemical stockpiles more difficult. Local emergency planning groups are in many cases unfunded, and, in the most extreme instances, include people on staff lists who have died.