BLOWING THIS WAY FROM TEXAS CITY “[Sunday] night for about two hours, BP’s refinery released an estimated 2,725.59 pounds of sulfur dioxide when the pressure spiked during a planned shutdown — so if you were cruising through Texas City and noticed a suffocating smell that may have been it. Meanwhile, starting [Monday], and continuing for the next week, BP has three more emissions events scheduled that are related to maintenance and the aforementioned planned shutdown at the refinery. Through the magic of the Internet, you can determine the substances involved in the releases, which include benzene.” [Hair Balls]
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Glad to see it is so little. Vast amounts of Sulfur is regularly release in marshy bays and the continental shelf without the assistance of man. This nearly 1.5 ton release is nothing.
The two hour time span for releasing is to diffuse the substance so much that only unpleasant part of is the rotten egg smell for a short period of time.
Talking to friend back in New Orleans who works with the docks where sulfur is regularly unloaded and loaded says that natural exposure from the sulfur sitting on barges would release more than this amount (and it happens daily).
As with everything dealing with the environment, perspective is nice to have.
Ahhh….and this is what I miss about Texas! East to West I-10 I could drive blind folded and know exactly where I am from Mt. Belvieu to Houston!