And a second unexploded tank on site. Why would they even allow building around a plant that is that dangerous?
We had a paper mill, a rubber tire plant, a sugar factory and a chemical plant (among others) all within driving/working distance. The jobs come and the people want to live closer to their job. Nowadays, that area that was small rustic commute through is so built up that people are on top of each other.
In my lifetime,
The paper mill produced noxious smells, and toxic chemicals. It was so bad and the rivers/streams nearby were so polluted that wildlife was dying all over, and they were ordered to clean up their act by the EPA.
The rubber tire plant caught on fire. Thank goodness it was a small fire, but still days of toxic smoke billowing...
The sugar factory has exploded three times in my lifetime. Killing and harming relatives that worked there.
The Chemical plant exploded once. I was a kid in elementary school. I remember the sky turned green and all us kids didn't go to school for over a week. We couldn't go outside and weren't allowed near the windows. The chemical plant was never rebuilt and for miles around it, there is a big chain link fence and nothing grows there. Not a weed - nothing.
So, we have these plants for the things we need. People need jobs so they work there. Overtime, people forget the horrors of the past. They don't want to commute to work, they want to live close in order to spend time with their loved ones. Smaller business move into the same area because the home owners are there with good jobs at these plants. Then more people move in to be close to their jobs. It's a cycle.
Everybody will be spouting the dangers now of living close to these dangerous plants, but people already do in other towns all across America and will continue to do so. They'll forget the dangers over time and the cycle will repeat.
