Thousands Told To Flee U.S. Blast

Thousands told to flee US blast

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5413676.stm

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/image...ap_apex203.jpg
The ball of chemical flame was clearly visible over Apex

10/6/2006

Up to 17,000 people were asked to evacuate homes near a chemical plant in North Carolina after a blast inside the compound that injured at least 18.

An explosion rocked the waste disposal plant near the town of Apex, sending chemical clouds high into the sky.

Officials said the cause of the blast late on Thursday was not clear, but said it may take days to extinguish.

About half of Apex's 32,000 residents were told to evacuate, with more told to leave their homes hours later.

There was no immediate confirmation of what chemicals were contained in the gas cloud that spilled over Apex.

But local officials said initial suspicions suggested it may have been chlorine gas.

The plant, operated by EQ Industrial Services, handles a range of industrial waste products including paints and solvents, and contains chemicals including chlorine, pesticides, herbicides, sulphur and fertiliser.

The town of Apex is 10 miles (16km) south-west of Raleigh, the state capital.

'No sightseeing'
Although evacuation orders were issued overnight, many disregarded instructions to leave their homes.

But officials warned that those who deliberately stayed near the site of the blast would not stay for long.

"People are going to want to come and sightsee at this fire scene," town manager Bruce Radford told the Associated Press.

"They will either get terribly sick or they will be arrested."

Residents staying at home were urged to close all windows, turn off their air conditioning units and look out for symptoms of chemical poisoning.

Some 25 people work at the EQ plant, although all were thought to have left by the time the fire broke out on Thursday night.

Those hurt included police officers and a firefighter, who were taken to hospital with respiratory complaints.

From the article: "State environmental officials said, however, that initial air quality tests had found nothing alarming."
Where have I heard that before?

From Condi's Killer Pen.

I guess "alarming" could be mean anything, one could be alarmed that breathing the air for 5 minutes means almost total failure of the nervous system, meanwhile another person would only be alarmed if the air quality had a harsh effect on the paint job on their car. What would define an alarming situation for these officials? Perhaps they only become alarmed when the air quality leads people to spontaneously combust, therefore everything else that leads to failure of the nervous system, bloody eyes, anal leakage, etc. should be of no cause for concern.

I see two options here:

Either this was an ‘attack’ or it was an ‘accident’.

Neither one of these two options is likely to be properly investigated and reported by the MSM this close to the elections.

And both options would be a direct result of Bush WH negligence.

The ‘accident’ option, like the recent problems in the mines, is a direct result of Bush WH deregulation of the chemical industry.

The ‘attack’ option is even more damning to their claims of being able to keep us safe.

Is anybody here feeling any safer today? Never mind -- just forget I asked that question.