The Politics of Transportation and Disposal: hazardous and nuclear waste issues in Colorado, US.

Abstract

In August 1985, a leakage of aldicarb oxime affected approximately 150 residents living within a ten mile radius of a Union Carbide plant located in Institute, West Virginia. The moderately hazardous chemical is used in the manufacture of methyl isocyanate, which leaked from another Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India in December 1984, killing over 2,500 people. Subsequent studies have revealed that MIC also leaked from the West Virginia plant on 28 occasions between 1980 and 1984. The most recent leakage follows attempts to improve the factory’s safety record and emergency procedures; these notwithstanding, it is reported that there still exist five separate emergency preparedness plans covering the plant, to be administered by different local, state and federal authorities, and the plant itself (Makris, 1985). The Bhopal disaster has indicated the full extent to which toxic products can destroy the health or lives of individuals who find themselves in proximity to a chemical accident. Although studies have indicated that many respondents are typically more concerned by nuclear issues (Macgill, 1983), there is little question that products like dioxins pose a serious threat to large number of workers, those who live in affected areas, and those who use the highways or live in proximity to routes being used by chemical manufacturers.