Action


END THE GREED
A Legislative Proposal for Congress

Minimize the Impact of Toxic Events
Healing the Hazards 
 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



Be It Enacted By The United States Congress

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
44
49
50


1
2
3
4
5
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.


Enactment Clause: This bill shall go into effect 61 days after passage.