Review of Reading 16: Ill Winds: The Chemical Plant Next Door

A review of Ill Winds: The Chemical Plant Next Door by Becky Bradway.
Published in E: The Environmental Magazine, September/October 2002


Summary

This article talks about one woman’s personal experience with the unfair environmental conditions many rural towns are subjected to. Bradway spent part of her childhood living in Buffalo, Illinois, one of the small towns near Borden Chemical and Plastics. She discusses the negative effects that those chemical emissions had on the health of the workers and the surrounding environment. Eventually, the author’s mother and uncle died of cancer, and Bradway battled cancer herself.

Borden, Inc. built a PVC plant in 1962, and in 1987 it came under new ownership as Borden Chemicals and Plastics Limited Partnership. Later on, the company went bankrupt and was purchased by Formosa Plastics Corporation in 2002.

This article is divided into three parts and discusses the effects of lax regulations on rural plants and factories in our nation.


Borden and Buffalo

While reading the article, I was faced with many questions. For example, why was this factory allowed to stay despite its emission of many harmful chemicals? What it boils down to is that rural people have no power. Why didn’t the citizens just move to find other jobs? This is easier said than done, and needs to be looked at from the perspective of such communities: people are born, raised, and die there. A lack of opportunity combined with lifestyle choices keeps them from leaving, and so companies such as Borden Chemical are necessary to provide jobs.

Relics Remain

The main products of Borden were resins, formaldehyde, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). These chemicals cause high rates of liver and breast cancer amongst workers and make their way into the surrounding environment. A particularly disturbing fact is that multiple companies and farms are polluting the nearby Sangamon River, wells, and landfills. These companies obtain waivers and exemptions that allow them to disregard environmental protection laws. The result? Here are some shocking facts:

• Borden once shipped 2,500 drums of highly toxic mercury waste to South African which then leaked contaminants.

• Borden can legally dump 800,000 gallons of wastewater into a local stream (in an area where people hunt and fish) EVERY DAY.

• Borden releases a combined 105,000 pounds of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate into the air every year.

Blue-Collar Risks

A simple solution would be for employees to just refuse to do these hazardous jobs, right? Wrong. Many of these people are forced to risk their health at the expense of losing their jobs. The author mentions how in one factory, workers were told to clean “mystery chemicals” out of tanks. Those who obeyed all contracted a rare cancer, and those who refused lost their jobs. Other available jobs, such as construction, came with risks of their own so there really was no escape for many citizens. Despite the choices individuals made to keep their families safe, many health risks were unfortunately both unbeknown to them and beyond their control.


New Terms

industrial chemicals: chemicals developed or manufactured for use in industrial operations or research by industry, government, or academia

coal tar: a tar formed from distillation of bituminous coal

vinyl chloride: a substance used in manufacturing plastics; known to be toxic and carcinogenic (cancer-causing); breathing high levels of vinyl chloride for short periods of time can cause dizziness, sleepiness, unconsciousness and, at extremely high levels, death, while breathing vinyl chloride for long periods of time can result in permanent liver damage, nerve damage, liver cancer, brain tumors, lung cancer, and malignancies of the digestive tract

resin: any of a large class of synthetic products that have some of the physical properties of natural resins but are chemically different and are used chiefly in plastics

formaldehyde: a pungent, colorless, toxic, water-soluble gas that is used as a disinfectant and preservative; also used in the manufacture of synthetic resins, dyes, and plastics

polyvinyl chloride (PVC): a common thermoplastic resin, used in a wide variety of manufactured products, including rainwear, garden hoses, phonograph records, and floor tiles

ethylene dichloride: a colorless, toxic, and extremely flammable liquid with a mild odor that produces poisonous gases when it burns; usually converted to vinyl-chloride monomer for PVC production

vinyl-chloride monomer: an extremely flammable gas with a faint odor; a known human carcinogen with dangerous toxic effects when absorbed by the skin or inhaled; also causes severe irritation of the eyes; used to produce PVC

hydrogen chloride: a colorless or slightly yellow gas with an irritating, pungent odor; also known as hydrochloric acid; irritating and corrosive to the eyes, skin, and mucous membranes; exposure to high concentrations can cause laryngitis, bronchitis, and pulmonary edema, and brief exposures to concentrations in the range of 1,300 to 2,000 ppm are lethal to humans

ammonia: a colorless gas with a very sharp odor; is irritating to the skin, eyes, nose, throat, and lungs; exposure to high concentrations in the air can severely burn the skin, eyes, throat, or lungs and in extreme cases blindness, lung damage, or death can occur

vinyl acetate: a clear, colorless liquid with a sweet, fruity smell that is very flammable; used to make other industrial chemicals


Concepts that Challenged My Thinking

While reading this article, I was absolutely appalled that this is allowed to happen in our country! Putting these harmful chemical plants in rural, low-income areas in our country is definitely an example of the “NIMBY” (not in my backyard!) mindset. I can’t believe that all those chemicals are allowed to be released into rivers, landfills, and the air. Dumping 800,000 gallons of wastewater into a local stream everyday? Do these businessmen have absolutely no conscience? I also found it infuriating that Borden was exempt from Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations. I didn’t even know that was possible! Also, I could hardly stand to read about those poor employees who were given the ultimatum of performing hazardous tasks or losing their job. This is definitely not legal. I thought our nation had moved past such happenings, but I guess I was horribly mistaken.


Additional Resources

In addition to all the harm Borden Chemical inflicted upon its surrounding environment with its appalling emissions of chemical pollutants, they were a company that manufactured PVC – an extremely hazardous product itself. Check out this article by the Center for Health, Environment & Justice for more information!