The Houston Petrochemical Complex
Curbing Pollution from the Houston Petrochemical Complex
The Houston Petrochemical Complex churns out pollution that endangers public health, and in particular, threatens the health of nearby residents. In September 2006, CPR published a report by Thomas McGarity and Karen Sokol revealing a largely unreported danger from the complex: migrating toxic hot spots -- areas with considerably higher-than-average concentrations of pollutants that are variable in location and persistence because of changing wind direction and emission sources. The report said that the hot spots pose a serious health threat, but are difficult to detect using current tracking methods.
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CPR Report. Read CPR's September 2006 report, "Man-Made Disaster: Texas’s Failure to Protect Its Citizens from the Perils of the Houston Petrochemical Complex" (522 kb download) by Thomas O. McGarity and Karen Sokol. Or read the "Executive Summary to Man-Made Disaster.” O leído le en español: "Informe Ejecutivo: Un desastre provocado por el hombre: Falta de Texas en Proteger a sus Ciudadanos Contra los Peligros del Complejo Petroquímico de Houston." Read the news release for "Man-Made Disaster.” (September 2006)
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CNN Interview. In October 2007, CPR’s Thomas McGarity discussed the hazards of petrochemical pollutants in Houston on a CNN documentary special, Planet in Peril. Watch the video on CNN’s website. Or read the related news story.
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Houston Chronicle Op-Eds. Read two op-eds from Victor Flatt on Houston’s air pollution, in The Houston Chronicle, "Houston: Just say 'yes' to clean air," published December 2, 2006, and "City's got right to enact law on air," published February 4, 2007.
