Question

In March 2005, a BP oil refinery in Texas City, TX on the Houston Ship Channel exploded, killing 14, and sending a plume of smoke hundreds of feet into the air. The blast had started as a fire in the section of the plant that worked on increasing the octane of the gasoline that was produced at the refinery. The Houston Ship Channel is the main waterway to allow commerce to flow from the Gulf of Mexico into Houston.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality expressed concern about the release of nitrogen oxides, benzene and other known carcinogens as a result of the blast. Neighbors of the plant complained that the plant had been emitting carcinogens for years, and that the regulators had ignored their complaints about emissions and unsafe

1. List at least 6 environmental failure costs that the company now faces as a result of the accident.  Be specific in your answers.
2. List at least 2 ways the company could have reduced the failure costs associated with the accident.

Answer 1

Environmental failure costs:-

1) Benzene is an oil product with a high level of toxicity which affects the digestive system of living beings. It also leads to capillary rupture and haemorrhages. It lowers WBCs count in blood cells leading to slow healing and exposures to infection.

2) Carcinogens promote carcinogenesis, the formation of cancer. The radiation of alpha rays, gamma rays affects differently on living and causes cancer that can also lead to death.

3) Release of Nitrogen Oxides leads to the formation of smog and acid rain affecting life. It causes inflammation of airways affecting the respiratory system of livings which decreases lung function and increases the response to allergens. It also affects the vegetation through leaf damage and reduced growth. It increases the risk of frost damage.

4) Oil processing takes a long time and also being costly and inflammable, wastage of oil affects the environment as many input materials come from the environment. The families of the died people have to suffer and due to the plume of smoke many animals nearby also got affected. The spilt oil also pollutes the water bodies and the living creatures in the water.

5) Release of many greenhouse gases leads to global warming and ozone depletion of the Mother Earth. It increases the temperature which has massive impacts on rainfall patterns, depletion of glaciers, the rise of sea levels and increase of ultraviolet rays.

6) This lead to the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars and also the job cut of many families. It also affected the commerce flow from the Gulf of Mexico to Houston.

Ways company could have reduced the costs:-\

1) Safety equipment could have made more sufficient to avoid this accident. Proper equipment for alarming before this type of situation.

2) Training of workers in a way to be more cautious and ready to tackle the accident and reduce human errors.