END THE GREED
A Legislative Proposal for Congress
Minimize the Impact of Toxic Events
Healing
the Hazards
Narrative
Narrative
This
narrative explains the legislative proposal provided for
consideration and passage into law by both houses of the United
States Congress. It is the result of an in-depth and exhaustive
analysis of the problem posed by the transport of hazardous materials
by the petroleum industry. Guidelines for design were to ensure
accountability and security for Americans from operations moving
toxic substances through pipes and other forms of transport. Also, to
provide a viable avenue to rapidly exact accountability for damage
done to people and their property.
Within
the last five years multiple Toxic Events caused by corporations
moving highly hazardous materials have focused attention on the need
to ensure Americans are secure in their health and their property.
The petroleum industry cannot be trusted to monitor their own
transport system.
The
tactics adopted in the wake of these toxic events result in lingering
litigation, further losses to those harmed, and lasting damage to
private and public property. They have instead adopted a strategy of
denial coupled with a build out to protect themselves from liability
using our system of law and courts.
Since
the petroleum industry lacks the motivation to carry out the needed
monitoring themselves it is incumbent on us to ensure monitoring
takes place and cannot be manipulated.
This
is especially urgent because recent Toxic Events, especially those
involving Tar Sands, require knowledge of the exact chemical make-up
of the material released immediately to determine the scope and
intensity for an effective and immediate response by HazMat units.
We can, and must, have this information reach local HazMat units as
an instant response alarm because of the material the petroleum
industry has chosen to use to make transport by pipes possible for
Tar Sands.
The
chemicals used to move Tar Sands through corporations which deal
routinely in such poisons as Benzene, Toluene, and Hydrogen Sulfide
while transporting their raw materials for processing. These toxic
chemicals, highly carcinogenic, neurotoxic, or poisonous, exit the
pipe in gaseous form. The pressure in the pipe, then released ejects
them into the air where they disperse widely, depending on the
direction of the wind and other prevailing conditions. We call this
the Primary Release Period and it lasts about an hour. 'Monitoring'
by the responsible petroleum company never starts until this period
has ended.
This
intense period of exposure renders impacted victims sensitized to
later exposure.
We
believe these facts are known to the those in the petroleum industry.
The
potential liabilities for the subject corporation are substantial.
This is why this critical information is never made available in a
timely manner.
In
this case, timely means instantly, with projections for the range
impacted so people can be evacuated immediately.
Lacking
this information, it has proven impossible to provide adequate
medical intervention for people who are affected by Toxic Events or
to reduce the long term effects on victims and their property.
While
the petroleum industry would have us believe this is not possible the
fact is the means for ensuring both reliable monitoring and rapid
response exist now. No new technology is needed.
To
protect the health and property rights of people to be secure we
propose the following system to be made available online so each
HazMat unit can know immediately, instead of hours later, the actual
gravity of any Toxic Event.
ALOHA
is a
Software Suite of programs designed and provided for public use by
the U.S.
Office of Response and Restoration
which is used in this application. The system provides essential
information on hazards to local communities for Toxic Events which
are not caused by material stored within the community. Pipelines,
transport by rail, and truck are not stored within the community.
If
this had been available on March 29th
last year, 2013, in Mayflower, Arkansas the town could be well on its
way to recovery instead of bogged down in a struggle against the lies
told by Exxon and those who the company has paid to carry out the
present PR campaign asserting they are 'moving on' and all is well.
Many
individuals are experiencing growing health problems, the land and
water remain impacted, and the area impacted is growing as time
passes.
The
failure to provide immediate monitoring has also allowed the
petroleum industry to perpetuate fallacies
which must be overcome. One of these is outlined above. But there
are others.
These
two different forms of damage we identify as First Level (Release of
material – 3 Hours) and Second Level ( Three Hours – Finish of
Comprehensive Clean-Up) We defined Comprehensive Clean-Up as the
return to conditions existing before the Toxic Event occurred.
All
people and animals must be evacuated out of the critical radius for
damage within scant minutes to avoid First Level damage. Individuals
and animals who remain within the Impacted Radius throughout this
initial period (First Level), should not return to the area until
they have been medically evaluated for toxic overexposure.
This
proposal provides a decentralized system using already existing
software obtainable, as stated above, from the Office of Response and
Restoration which would then be available, with a system to alert
local First Responders, informing them of the areas which must be
evacuated, what toxic chemicals were released, and other time
critical information.
Local
residents will be urged to organize to ensure their own safety and
that of their community.
Alerts
would be available to local residents who sign up to receive them.
In this way if a need for evacuations becomes necessary to local
First Responders will know who to go to to ensure all residents are
notified.
This
critical information will also be available for viewing via the
Internet by the public so the content of materials being transported
is immediately available.
Furthermore,
potential preliminary air dispersion models of various scenarios
should be made available at critical facilities so that nearby
residents can be prepared and know how to respond in an emergency in
advance.
Using
these already existing technologies and agency models this can be put
into place rapidly.
The
system, which we are calling Healing the Hazards, would provide a
series of models immediately following a release using a specific
analysis of the materials involved. For a pipeline, the model would
be positioned at the closest point from where the rupture occurred,
factoring, if necessary the two closest points between the rupture.
The
ALOHA system takes into account the direction of the wind, producing
a map to facilitate evacuation which would take place using phone and
volunteers who would inform those within the First Level Area. These
maps would be distributed to all first responders and anyone
remaining in the area so they could make informed decisions.
The
chemical analysis of the substance at its point of origin would then
be published to make it available for future use in litigation, if
necessary.
Instead
of litigation we propose the immediate formation of a Trust to be
funded by the corporation involved. Establishing a Trust, funded
automatically through the
Oil
Spill
The
legislative proposal includes oversight and management by a Healing
Hazards Oversight Committee made up of three individuals who have the
requisite management skills and ethical qualifications to ensure the
process is not suborned. Given the past record of the petroleum
companies involved we can assume attempts to accomplish this will
begin immediately.
A
Proposal for legislation by
Green
Fields renewal
Written
by Melinda Pillsbury-Foster and Dave Lincoln
Title of Bill:
Healing the Hazards – Minimizing the Impact of Toxic Events
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Be It Enacted By The
United States Congress
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Preamble:
Whereas,
Toxic Events caused by Petroleum Companies which, as a part of
their business model move highly hazardous materials across
private and public lands by pipe, train, and truck, have been
responsible for an increased number of Toxic Events, resulting in
damage done to people, property, communities and the land, air and
water on which their communities are sited and
Whereas,
the Petroleum Industry routinely and intentionally has withheld
essential information on the contents of the materials they ship,
these delays often lasting until any threat of legal action ends,
and
Whereas,
these actions on their parts includes lying about the gravity of
the potential for harm, when directly asked; suborning local
authorities; manipulating events so as to put themselves in
control of purported clean up efforts which instead focus on
disguising the actual damage done, and feeding false information
to the media and authorities, putting victims at further risk
through their failure to handle their business in a responsible
fashion, and
Whereas,
many of these corporations evade even the secondary accountability
of having to find an insurance carrier who would objectively
assess these incidents for the real potential for liability, and
Whereas
Congress has the obligation to maintain a legal system which is
not subject to manipulation by corporations and ensure commerce
which takes place between the states does so in ways which ensure
the security of people's health and well being and that our
Nation's land, air, and water are clean,
SECTION
1: Petroleum Companies engaged in the transport of those materials
from which their products are produced or materials, such as
Benzene, Toluene, and Hydrogen Sulfide, which are used to make
such transport possible will, with the oversight of a designated
third party, to be determined by the HHOC, install and maintain a
system for monitoring the contents of their pipelines which will
produce every minute an analysis of the specific materials then
flowing through the pipes. All transport of the 2.6 million miles
of pipelines will be monitored using the HHOC system to ensure all
Tar Sands are HHOC monitored.
estimated
quarterly payments to be placed in an account to be overseen by
Sub-SECTION
A: This system will be paid for by the subject company with the
Healing Hazards Oversight Committee. The HHOC will be headed by
three
individuals with impeccable credentials. For this purpose we
propose
for
appointment Tom Steyer, Jimmy Carter, and
Dr.
Patrick Soon-Shiong.
Further
appointments, and all deliberations, made by the HHOC, will be
publicly
available via streaming over the Internet.
SECTION
2: Direct oversight and maintenance of the system will be carried
out by a yet to be
designated
third party, to be chosen by the committee named above, who will
oversee
and maintain an internet system which provides alarms in the case
of a
decrease
of pressure, rupture, or other indicative event.
Sub-SECTION
A: This information, formatted for use with a
system
like, equivalent to, or better than, the ALOHA system,
available
through the Office of the U.S.
Office of Response
Sub-SECTION
B: ALOHA is a Software
Suite of programs
designed
and provided for public use by the which is used in
this
application, will provide essential information on hazards
to
local communities for Toxic Events which are not caused by
material
stored within the community, as was the case for the
Green
Book, produced by Emergency Planning and Community
Right-to-Know
Act (EPCRA).
SECTION
3: Lacking this information, it has proven impossible to provide
adequate medical intervention for people who are affected by Toxic
Events or to reduce the long term effects on victims and their
property, creating a liability which the victims have been forced
to pay, causing financial hardship and bankruptcy in many
instances.
Sub-SECTION
A: Petroleum Companies will become responsible for all
medical
expenses for victims of Toxic Events which they caused from the
time
the spill begins until each victim has been examined by
specialists in
remediation
therapies and the case has been signed off by the specialists
and
the victim.
Sub-SECTION
B: Subject Petroleum Companies will no longer be allowed
to
self-insure as this perpetuates the strategies itemized above.
Sub-SECTION
C: Damage to property, including pets and livestock and
buildings,
will be assessed by a third party to be named by the HHOC
and
restitution in full made for damage done using the assessments
thus
provided.
SECTION
4: Within 24 hours of a Toxic Event having occurred a Qualified
Settlement Trust (468B), will be established to organize and
strengthen the negotiating position for victims, allowing for a
negotiated settlement which will act in the best interests of all
parties. This provides transparency, with direct court
supervision, allowing for costs to be paid before final settlement
and, finally, provides individual flexibility within an umbrella
trust.
Sub-SECTION
A: Tar Sands, which have proven to be highly volatile,
explosive,
and toxic, will categorized as included under the Oil
Spill
Liability
Trust Fund.
This allows access to funds specifically
made
available for clean up after oil spills and should have been
available
for Tar Sands long before now.
SECTION
5: There are between 2.5 and 2.6 million miles of pipelines in the
US which are used to transport petroleum products. Many of these
lines are aging, increasing the hazard of ruptures either caused
by deterioration or human accident or natural disasters. The
materials used to build pipelines, subject to deterioration, need
to be manufactured from the strongest and longest lasting material
available.
Sub-Section
A: Ultrahigh Performance Concrete has been named by
the
Department of Homeland Security as the best material for
infrastructure
construction and repair. Therefore, any pipeline
which
suffers a rupture on any section will be closed until
replacement
with UHPC is completed and a third party inspection
to
be determined by the HHOC has taken place.
SECTION
6: Transport of Tar Sands by rail and truck will no longer be allowed
within the United States unless a similar system for monitoring is
used and linked in to the HH System.
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