 |
| From Album 5 |
MINDEN, La. — Just before midnight on Oct. 15, 2012, Sheriff Gary Sexton of Webster Parish was driving home from the airport when the sky lit up like midday. He flipped on his walkie-talkie to hear everyone asking: What on earth were those big booms? As the sheriff would soon learn, two massive explosions had taken place at Camp Minden, a 15,000-acre site owned by the state in the pine woods just south of here, where private companies engage in military-related work. When the authorities began examining the blast site, they found something startling: thousands of tons of M6 propellant, used in the firing of artillery rounds, stuffed into plastic bags and piled into sagging cardboard boxes, many of them out in open fields.
…
Though the initial explosions were so big that smoke from them showed up on National Weather Service radar, no one was injured and damage was minimal. But more than two years later, figuring out how to dispose of 18 million pounds of unstable and dangerous material — who would do it and whether it could be done in a way that did not compound the danger — remains the talk of the parish. The material belonged to Explo Systems, a private contractor. The 18 million pounds includes some explosives like TNT, but nearly all of it is M6 propellant, which can spontaneously ignite, a risk that increases significantly over time. Officials with the Environmental Protection Agency say it is the largest such stockpile in the country.And…of course, Explo has gone Implo, declaring bankruptcy two years ago after several company officers were indicted on charges related to the 2012, um, “event.” So now the Gret Stet of Loosiana (which is stuck holding the bag–make that bags…hundreds of them…all ticking time bombs…or “big booms,” if you prefer) and the EPA have decided the solution for disposing of 9000 tons of hazardous, toxic, and volatile material is…burn it out in the open. Because after all, what could go wrong?
More here (video link).
OK, first off, a sarcastic remark or three. Ready?OK, well, why not? After all, they didn't give a flying crap about the "down winders" when they did the above ground nuclear bomb tests in Nevada in the 50's and early 60's, so what are these folks in northern Louisiana fussing about? They just need o suck it up and fly the flag, be more "patriotic" and all that crapola.
ReplyDeleteNow, seriously, what the hell were these officials thinking? Better yet, what were they smoking and/or drinking when they came up with this "plan"?
It figures in an odd sort of way, a bankrupt company with all this highly dangerous stuff laying around in a bankrupt state. By the way, have you seen the reports about how lil' Bobby, our part time governor, is thinking(does he ever, really think?) about selling off the Louisiana lottery to raise a bit of cash to cover the $1.6 Billion state budget deficit? Yeah, and the two outfits interested in buying the state lottery are Goldman Sachs and Citi Corp. Yep, two of the biggest crooks in the world. Well, as they used to say, birds of a feather. I know this little creature has less than one year left as governor, but why is he not doing hard time in Angola making little rocks from big rocks?
Try and stay dry. Up here, it looks like Saturday will be our heaviest rain day.
Did you say treats?!!??? LOL. Say "Hi" to Tigger for me.
The lottery and (what's left of) the tobacco settlement, though Jay Dardenne noticed that, hey, voters in 2006 voted to earmark part of any tobacco fund sale for coastal restoration. Aw...
ReplyDeleteYep, the ol' PBJ administration is resorting to the equivalent of burning the furniture to keep the house heated...and lit. And the equivalent of Mr. Potter from A Wonderful Life is offering to strike the match.
Funny enough, the same's going on in Wisconsin...Florida...New Jersey...Texas...and probably everywhere else that's sold the Statehouse to ALEC. But hey, who needs roads, good schools, and stable society when we can have day laborers, private prisons, and charter or home schooling? The kids can learn about Jesus and the dinosaurs...though they won't be able to read or do simple math.
OK, I'll stop...otherwise I'll be banging my head against the desk.
Tigger sends a happy meow, though I freed my other hand to finish typing here. Yeah, they pushed the rain in the forecast up to tomorrow and Sunday down here as well. Glad I cut the grass last week during the lull. Guess I'll have to get out sometime late in the day next week.
Well, despite the rain, hope your weekend's ok.