|
|
|
State News Release |
Home | Press | State Press |
| Hydrogen Explosion in British Columbia Confirms River Terrace Concerns Over Fueling Station. |
|
THE D.C. STATEHOOD GREEN PARTY September 9, 2004 Contact: RECENT HYDROGEN EXPLOSION IN BRITISH COLUMBIA CONFIRMS RIVER TERRACE CONCERNS OVER FUELING STATION WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Michele Tingling-Clemmons, D.C. Statehood Green Party candidate for Ward 7 member of D.C. Council, and other residents of Ward 7 cited a recent hydrogen "explosion and fire" in British Columbia, Canada as proof of the danger inherent in a hydrogen-gasoline fueling station planned for the River Terrace neighborhood in Washington, D.C. The blast occurred on August 6 at Ballard Power System's facility in Burnaby, B.C. The immediate cause remains unknown. "The accident in British Columbia has added fuel to the concerns about the experimental combination hydrogen-gasoline fueling station being developed by Shell Hydrogen and General Motors," said Ms. Tingling-Clemmons. "River Terrace residents have cause for concern, since the proposed site for the station is in a working-class African American residential area, less than 300 feet from River Terrace Elementary School. While we welcome the development of environmentally sound hydrogen fuel-cell energy, we also need to take into account its hazards, especially as the technology is moved out of laboratories and into neighborhoods." Shell had put up its sign and was preparing to begin construction when demonstrations and a challenge to the permit by the community put a halt to the process. Residents noted that Homeland Security has declared the station too dangerous to be located near the White House. "We are all for safe energy and are not against hydrogen per se; what we are against is being made guinea pigs once again," said George Gurley, director of Urban Protectors, Air Force veteran, and author who led the local movement to stop PEPCO from expanding its polluting capacity in northeast D.C. "If Shell and GM are so sure that this experiment is safe, let them put it in their own neighborhoods and experiment on their own children." An official with the Burnaby Fire Department suggested the hydrogen leak was caused by a truck driver who had not correctly shut a valve, allowing hydrogen to escape. The ignition set of a shock wave that resulted triggered a nearby seismic detector, shutting off all flows of hydrogen throughout the Ballard facility. The protocol for dealing with hazardous material, which hydrogen is considered by first responders, requires that the flame be allowed to burn itself out. The fire department official voiced concern about the lack of a hydrogen expert on the scene and that it took 20 hours for one to arrive from California where the liquid hydrogen originated. The official also noted that the consequences would have been much more severe in terms of property damage and injury if the fuel had been gasoline instead of hydrogen. "Some individuals have implied and even said that if we oppose this experiment we are just ignorant and scared because we don't know how safe hydrogen is, but they are only telling us one side of the story," added Mr. Gurley. River Terrace residents claim that they have received no satisfactory answers to their questions about what would happen in the case of a catastrophic accident. The fire department has not presented its emergency plan, nor has it indicated that it even has a hydrogen expert. After Urban Protectors could not initially persuade incumbent Councilmember Kevin Chavous to hold a public hearing, they held a forum where political opponents expressed support for residents' concerns, after which Mr. Chavous contacted Mr. Gurley the next day with a date for a public hearing. But River Terrace residents who attended the hearing claim that none of the concerns they raised were answered. "They keep telling everyone how safe hydrogen is, never talking about the fact that this is an experimental station," said Ms. Tingling-Clemmons. "Why haven't they told us about the dangers? We think it's because they don't know. Our children's lives are too important and we think they are worth more than the $15,000 Shell has tried to buy the [River Terrace Elementary] school off with." Ms. Tingling-Clemmons and Mr. Gurley have demanded that Shell and General Motors insure every schoolchild at the level of at least $1.5 million per child, without the normal legal fees, maneuvering and delays, in the event of catastrophe from an accident, explosion, terrorism or equipment malfunction. "Our children are not for sale; and we are starting to think that the $1.5 million is too low a figure since we understand that they paid out an average of $20 million per child for children killed in a fuel pipe explosion in Washington State," said Ms. Tingling-Clemmons. D.C. Statehood Greens note that the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is required by environmental law to maintain a non-residential buffer zone around its natural gas refueling stations, and that public safety concerns and reason justify a similar buffer zone surrounding an experimental hydrogen cell and gasoline station. In the case of the fire at the Burnaby plant, the fire department evacuated a two-square mile area around the plant. Party members also noted that Shell Oil is one of the worst polluters in the world, with a history of buying off governments around the world, including Nigeria, where writer Ken Saro-Wiwa and seven other activists were executed for protesting the devastation caused by Shell's drilling sites. In Durban, South Africa, Shell is refusing to clean up an urban underground oil spill, the largest in history. The company's record in Washington, D.C. includes leakages from at least two different Shell stations in nearby Ward 7 residential which forced residents to vacate their homes and lowered property values. MORE INFORMATION |
|
State News Release |
Home | Press | State Press |
