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Winds of Change Newsletter, December 2008 See sidebar for table of contents
An Open Letter To Bayer October 8, 2008 Nick Crosby, Institute Site Leader Dear Mr. Crosby, To eliminate risks of a Bhopal-type event happening in Institute, we, the signatories, are demanding that Bayer become an MIC and phosgene-free facility. At Bayers Institute plant, large quantities of highly toxic chemicals are produced. Among these chemicals are methyl isocyanate (MIC), the chemical that killed and injured over 100,000 in Bhopal, India, and phosgene, a nerve agent used in World War I. Bayer reported to EPA that it stores between 100,000 and 999,999 pounds of MIC. This is two to 20 times the amount of MIC that caused the worst industrial accident in history in Bhopal, India in 1984. Institute, West Virginia, is thus the only place in the United States where MIC is produced in large volumes. The plant accounts for 90 percent of stored MIC and 95 percent of MIC emissions in the US. MIC is dangerous in concentrations lower than most humans can smell. It can kill or cause permanent injury if inhaled. In addition, between five and 50 tons of the toxic gas phosgene, a chemical weapon used during World War I, are stored. A 1994 worst-case scenario analysis determined that in the event of a Maximum Credible Accident (MCA), cases of fatal poisoning could occur over a radius of nearly 10 miles. Including the most current event (an explosion in August, in which, we learned much later, a small amount of MIC was released!) the plant has a long history of accidents in which several workers were injured and killed, and hundreds of residents had to be treated in hospitals. Bayer inherited this legacy from Union Carbide, Rhone-Poulenc, and Aventis when it purchased the Institute facility in 2001. Even though the names have changed, community concern and lack of corporate responsibility remain the same Now again, following the August 28th explosion, Bayer refused crucial information. Local emergency responders werent sure what to do for several hours after the blast. In case of a toxic release, thousands of residents would have been endangered Bayer not only endangered the lives of thousands of Kanawha Valley residents, it endangered the lives of plant workers and the emergency responders who attended to the explosion. Refusing crucial information to emergency responders prevented immediate and necessary health care to Bill Oxley, the worker who was severely burned in the explosion. By not decontaminating Mr. Oxley prior to transporting him to CAMC, Bayer put the lives of the ambulance drivers, nurses, doctors and other people inside the CAMC emergency room in potential grave danger. Bayers actions to these recent events are inexcusable, intolerable, and exhibit vast irresponsibility to the communities surrounding the plant. On behalf of the students, faculty and staff of West Virginia State University; the staff and constituents of the West Virginia Rehabilitation Center; the workers at the Institute facility; local emergency responders; and the residents of the Kanawha Valley, we are demanding the Bayer Institute plant become an MIC- and phosgene-free facility, and change the way residue from the Larvin unit is stored. Sincerely,
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