October 19, 2009 – 10:26 am
Levels of soot in Houston now exceed the EPA’s longstanding annual limit: “The area of concern is along the Ship Channel, the only place in Texas where levels of the tiny particles surpassed the EPA’s annual limit from 2006 to 2008, according to the most recent data available. The agency uses a three-year average to determine whether an area is in compliance. Monitoring shows air near the Ship Channel is getting cleaner, thanks in part to new rules for idling trucks and the paving of gravel parking lots. But EPA and local officials don’t know whether the improvements will be enough to drop the rolling average below the annual limit of 15 micrograms per cubic liter of air, since that average includes higher 2006 levels.” [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
Read more about: Air Pollution, Air Quality, Hazards, Houston Ship Channel, Industrial Pollution
February 19, 2009 – 10:06 am
Some public-health and environmental groups are complaining that Houston isn’t getting enough respect for the particularly fine quality of the air here, and are asking the EPA to give this city the recognition it deserves: “Houston’s concentrations of soot — a piercing mix of airborne matter from diesel exhaust, industrial flares and road grit, among other sources — exceeded the EPA’s yearly standards from 2005 to 2007, according to the most recent federal data available. . . . ‘Residents of Houston are breathing unhealthy levels of soot pollution,’ [the NRDC's John] Walke said in an interview this week. . . . Soot has been a special concern near the Houston Ship Channel, which is home to heavy industry and a busy port. It’s the only place in Texas where the particulate-matter levels exceed the annual standard.” [Houston Chronicle]
Read more about: Air Pollution, Air Quality, Hazards, Houston Ship Channel, Industrial Pollution
February 17, 2009 – 5:23 pm
Ready to see some fun pix from around town? Here’s the guardhouse for the loading dock at the Igloo plant in Katy, as captured a while back by blogger Donna B.
A few more:
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Read more about: 77006, 77007, 77494, Hazards, Houston Heights, Industrial Pollution, Katy, Montrose, Openings and Closings, Parking-Lots, Restaurants, Strip Centers, Westheimer
September 18, 2008 – 6:36 pm
A note from the City of Taylor Lake Village:
Taylor Lake is closed to recreation - swimming, boating, fishing, and water skiing. The Gulf Coast Waste Disposal Authority industrial wastewater treatment plant on Port Road was inundated during the storm and its ponds of untreated industrial and sanitary waste overflowed into Taylor Lake. The Lake may be contaminated with industrial pollutants (volatile organic and other compounds) and bacteriological contaminants. Residents should avoid all contact with Taylor Lake water until further notice.
Any other area industrial pollutants gone AWOL after Ike? Where did they end up?
Photo of house and damage on Taylor Lake: Flickr user Linda Railsback
Read more about: 77586, Disaster Aftermath, Environmental, Hazards, Hurricane Ike, Industrial Pollution, Lakes, Public Health, Taylor Lake Village, Toxic Sites, Water Quality
Comment of the Day: It’s What’s Inside That Counts
“Houston ugly? Hell no. Houston is real. Houston has the testicular fortitude to manufacturer [goods] and chemicals that everybody wants but no one wants made near them. Same with Beaumont, Port Arthur, Lake Charles, Baton Rouge…..I’ll take Houston gladly over cities that are completely obsessed with looking good. . . .” [kjb434, commenting on Smaller Signs in Houston’s Future]