# Chemical dumping



## notyermomma (Feb 11, 2014)

As I've mentioned elsewhere, I live a couple miles from a light (?) industry zone. I can see one smokestack out my window. As with a lot of these zones nationwide, the surrounding area has a much higher rate of cancer and birth defects than the rest of the city. :ignore: I'm fortunate enough to live outside that radius, but the air often smells funny. Homeless camps notwithstanding, it's one factor that makes me grateful for all the air-scrubbing trees.

Last night right at midnight I woke up to a really overpowering stench. After a couple minutes of racking my memory banks to recognize it, I came up empty and named it "metallic skunk." My throat got very sore and scratchy to the point that I preferred hiding under by blankets to breathing the air long enough to get up and close all the windows. (Besides, the gas was already inside anyway.) It passed after about half an hour.

First thing this morning, I looked up my local air quality monitoring bureau and made a complaint. My guess is that one of these plants decided to pull a fast one and dumped some illegal stuff into the atmosphere when they thought no one would notice. I doubt the bureau will be able to pinpoint who did it unless they get some other complaints, but I did have the satisfaction of ... venting? :teehee:

I post this as a heads-up to another side of prepping. By the time I smelt it, it was too late for any kind of preparation. It was already in my home and I was already hurting before I knew anything was wrong. I'm glad there was someone I could report it _to_, and I do believe they'll take it seriously even if all they can do is mark it in their records to prove a pattern in the future.

To generously reinterpret Thomas Jefferson, "Eternal vigilance is the price of being able to breathe." We watch the news to notice large trends to be aware of how they'll affect what happens in our own backyards. Our backyards are intrinsically important too (they may be someone else's national news!) Monitoring agencies are tool for preparedness through preventive maintenance. If you smell something, don't be afraid to say something.


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

I used to work at a gas plant (I was an office dweller). We had LOTS of monitoring equipment that would let TPTB know exactly what, & how much, stuff was let off in the environment in anyway. I'd be surprised if it was any different where you are but that information is available to the public. In reality, the EPA (& whoever else governs emissions) doesn't really stop as much pollution as you might think, they merely cash in when certain things are emitted. If the EPA agent wants to find something wrong, they can. There's no way of complying with all the different interpretations of all the rules & regulations. There's lots of under the table deals going on & plenty of corruption all the way around. 

My advice would be if you think it's dangerous where you live, move. I surely wouldn't depend on any government agency to protect me. Or you can stay there & make phone calls if that works for you.


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## notyermomma (Feb 11, 2014)

tsrwivey;348109
My advice would be if you think it's dangerous where you live said:


> Well, _duh_.  You did see all my posts about house hunting, right? Other than extreme circumstances like an eviction or a bug-out situation, moves don't happen overnight. That doesn't mean I have to be passive about the situation I'm in while I'm still here.


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