For fuck sakes, people in Texas can't get a break...
https://thinkprogress.org/houston-to...-209bb800b38d/
Houston’s toxic Superfund sites are underwater and leaking
Meanwhile, the EPA's budget for emergencies has gone down.
At least 20 people have died and hundreds of thousands have been evacuated in unprecedented flooding this week in and around Houston, Texas. Federal officials have already said that recovery from Hurricane Harvey will take years.
Houston is the heart of the Gulf Coast oil industry. The so-called “chemical coast” is home to numerous petrochemical refineries and processing plants. As such, it is also home to more than a dozen Superfund sites — areas of serious toxic pollution designated by the EPA to need remediation.
After Harvey, though, many of those sites have gone underwater.
The risk to people and the environment is both immediate and long-term. Kids are reportedly swimming in waters that might be passing through Superfund sites or state-designated toxic sites. But even after the flood waters subside, it’s impossible to know how far the toxins may have spread.
Meanwhile, the EPA's budget for emergencies has gone down.
At least 20 people have died and hundreds of thousands have been evacuated in unprecedented flooding this week in and around Houston, Texas. Federal officials have already said that recovery from Hurricane Harvey will take years.
Houston is the heart of the Gulf Coast oil industry. The so-called “chemical coast” is home to numerous petrochemical refineries and processing plants. As such, it is also home to more than a dozen Superfund sites — areas of serious toxic pollution designated by the EPA to need remediation.
After Harvey, though, many of those sites have gone underwater.
The risk to people and the environment is both immediate and long-term. Kids are reportedly swimming in waters that might be passing through Superfund sites or state-designated toxic sites. But even after the flood waters subside, it’s impossible to know how far the toxins may have spread.
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