Flawed response to Exxon spill exposed (no help came...)

[elehhhhna]

...when she awoke Jan. 23 to find her Baytown neighborhood shrouded in an odd gray mist and her car covered with so much oil her hand slid off the door handle, Joseph called for help.

No one came.

A Houston Chronicle investigation shows that Joseph's call to a federal hot line at 2:48 p.m. that Monday — more than 14 hours after oil began leaking from the Exxon Mobil refinery next door — spawned a series of e-mails and telephone calls that traveled from Washington, to Dallas, Austin, and Houston. Within minutes, eight different federal and state agencies received copies of a report that said an unknown oil, likely from the refinery, was all over cars at the Archia Courts public housing complex.

Yet, not one public official arrived in the neighborhood until Wednesday morning. And that was only after Exxon — which initially reported that the spill had been contained on site — disclosed to the state Tuesday night that the leaking substance had left the refinery premises.


http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/3748640.html

[elehhhhna]

1. another tidbit:

Despite 1995 guidelines established by the company and city officials that say a call should be made in emergencies and nonemergencies that cause a public concern or impact, Exxon Mobil never reported the spill to local law enforcement.

If Exxon had followed those guidelines, the fire department or local police likely would have responded, Baytown officials said.

[htuttle]

4. This should be a lesson to people

If you see a hazard in your neighborhood, call your local emergency responders, not a federal hotline. It's the local personnel who are going to have local interests at heart.

They should have just called the fire department from the outset.

[pitohui]

6. local interests are generally on the side of the business EOM

,

[Ezlivin]

2. We need to change the laws to protect these corporations

I thought I'd say it before that asshat Bush does....

[harpo]

3. bump for the folks that have to live with NO apparent representation

unless the PUKES at exxonmobil decide to engage the feds...its pretty sad they only respond to corps now.

[babylonsister]

5. I live in Houston, and this is the first I've heard of this.

Maybe there was a blip in the local news, but that's all there was.
It's amazing that Exxon can do no wrong. :eyes: Makes me wonder how
many palms they're greasing.