AND THE FIRES JUST KEEP ON COMING

Local environmentalists lost their favourite bad guy years ago after another in a series of fires and explosions at Uniroyal/Chemtura. David Ash was then replaced by Ron Lackner who has since been replaced by Dmitri Makares who has since been replaced by..??? The Wednesday afternoon fire at Chemtura was in Building # 33 and allegedly wasn't a big deal. I beg to differ somewhat. Back in the mid to late 90's there was a bigger fire and we learned that Toluene Diisocyanate (TDI) was a chemical used in production in this building. Isocyanate refers to a chain of Oxygen, Nitrogen and Carbon. Methyl Isocyanate was the killer of thousands in Bhopal India in 1984. Back in the 90's I was reassured by David Ash that TDI was less volatile or able to move from a liquid to a gas than methyl isocyanate. At the same time he advised me that it was however technically more toxic. Yet another isocyanate involved in production at Chemtura is MDI or methyl diisocyanate. The prefix "di" simply refers to two isocyanates. At first blush this does seem to me to validate David Ash's statement that TDI is more toxic. The bottom line here is what we all know in our hearts. This is a chemical factory and yes they and the Township are blessed with excellent firefighting capabilities. The real question is " When are the fires and explosions at Chemtura going to end?" I won't even get into either the illegal air emissions like late last September or the ongoing legal toxic emissions. This company has never been under control, either it's own control or the communitys'. Do not trust anyone who says otherwise be it the M.O.E. or former CPAC members.