Shell’s Toxic Wonderland: Pennsylvania Plant Spews Chemicals, Residents Rightfully Freak Out

Growing Alarm over Shell’s Pennsylvania Petrochemicals Complex. For the folks living near this chemical nightmare, the situation is beyond frightening. Many of them are suing Shell, presumably between checking their Geiger counters and donning hazmat suits to walk the dog

Posted by John Donovan: 3 July 2024

Ever since Shell announced its multibillion-dollar ethane cracker plant in Beaver Court, Pennsylvania, we’ve been watching this environmental horror show unfold. 

Thanks to the Environmental Law Institute’s publication, “Ethane Trading in the Upper Ohio Valley: Potential Impacts, Regulatory Requirements, and Opportunities for Public Engagement,” we have a comprehensive rundown of the toxic cocktail Shell is generously pumping into the air. If you’ve ever wanted a full list of chemicals that sound like they belong in a supervillain’s lair, flip to pages 6 to 11. Benzene, toluene, and ethylbenzene are just a few of the nasties on the roster, guaranteed to make your hair curl – or worse, depending on your proximity to the plant.

For the folks living near this chemical nightmare, the situation is beyond frightening. Many of them are suing Shell, presumably between checking their Geiger counters and donning hazmat suits to walk the dog. And who can blame them? The sheer volume and toxicity of emissions would make anyone contemplate moving to Mars.

Shell, ever the bastion of corporate responsibility, continues to churn out these pollutants with the kind of dedication usually reserved for marathon runners. But instead of medals, they’re collecting lawsuits and a reputation for being one of the worst neighbours imaginable.

So here’s to Shell, once again proving that when it comes to polluting the planet and scaring the hell out of local communities, they truly are world-class.

LINK: Ethane Trading in the Upper Ohio Valley: Potential Impacts, Regulatory Requirements, and Opportunities for Public Engagement.

Long-term health effects of exposure to benzene

• The major effect of benzene from long-term exposure is on the blood. (Long-term exposure means exposure of a year or more.) Benzene causes harmful effects on the bone marrow and can cause a decrease in red blood cells, leading to anemia. It can also cause excessive bleeding and can affect the immune system, increasing the chance for infection.
• Some women who breathed high levels of benzene for many months had irregular menstrual periods and a decrease in the size of their ovaries. It is not known whether benzene exposure affects the developing fetus in pregnant women or fertility in men.
• Animal studies have shown low birth weights, delayed bone formation, and bone marrow damage when pregnant animals breathed benzene.
• The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has determined that benzene causes cancer in humans. Long-term exposure to high levels of benzene in the air can cause leukemia, and cancer of the blood-forming organs.

We are indebted to the kind individual who brought the information to our attention.

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