Improving Risk Communication Working Papers (1989) / Chapter Skim
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Communicating Corporate Disaster
Communicating Corporate Disaster
Pages 29-52
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From page 29... ...
Charleston, the state capital and the county seat of Kanawha County, is located at the confluence of the Elk River and the Kanawha. Before the first white settlers arrived, Native American Indians refined brine to make salt for food preservation at
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From page 30... ...
In principle, the community can be divided into three groups with different needs and fears: people living adjacent to chemical plants for whom emergency response is the dominant concern; residents who are somewhat concerned about chronic effects of long-term exposure to emissions; and those who see the chemical industry principally as the provider of jobs and are supportive of it. However, there is some blurring of the borders separating these categories, especially the latter two.
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From page 31... ...
Union Carbide chemists and engineers concluded that an exothermic decomposition of aldicarb oxime was the most likely cause of the eruption. The material expelled included about 650 pounds of methylene chloride solvent, 300 pounds of solid residue in pipes from previous use of the reactor, and only ~ pounds of alciicarb oxime.
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From page 32... ...
By 10:15 a.m., Union Carbide concluded that the release contained a mixture of aldicarb oxime, dichioromethane, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and sulfur compounds and the plant physician had completed contact to all area hospitals.4 The plume of toxic materials drifted beyond the plant boundaries into a nearby residential area and across the river to a shopping center. One hundred thirty-four people were treated at hospital emergency facilities, 28 were hospitalized, 6 of whom were Union Carbide employees, with 2 remaining in the hospital more than 5 days.
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From page 33... ...
On Sunday, August 18, about 350 people attended a meeting at West Virginia State College, whose campus abuts the Union Carbide Institute plant. It was attended by the Union Carbide president, the regional director of public relations, and the plant manager.
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From page 34... ...
For example, the initial statements indicated that the release included both aldicarb oxime and dichloromethane. The press, however, devoted its attention almost exclusively to aldicarb oxime and the discrepancy between the plant physician's description of the material as a minor irritant and its classification by Union Carbide in its most toxic category.
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From page 35... ...
Interviews of the first residents to hav detected the release, a song about the release written by a local disc jockey, plant workers sharing oxygen masks during the emergency, a canvass showing the sirens failed to warn most residents -- these are stories that probably lack lasting appeal beyond the local or regional area. COMMUNITY ATTITUDES In principle, the community can be divided into three groups with different needs and fears: people living adjacent to chemical plants for whom emergency response is a dominant concern; residents who are somewhat concerned about chronic effects of long-term exposure to emissions; and residents who see the chemical industry principally as the provider of jobs
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From page 36... ...
The focused group interviews suggested that the August 11 leak and the subsequent events were polarizing public opinion between chemical workers, on the one hand, and accident victims, on the other.7 A series of hypotheses developed from these focused group interviews are presented in Appendix G Phase two tested the hypotheses developed in the initial phase.8 The principal findings of the survey are: - People in the Valley have a reservoir of good will toward the chemical companies; - People in the Valley want a sound economy and safe environment but currently feel they have neither one, nor are they optimistic that conditions in the Valley will improve in the f uture; - People are willing to make certain trade-offs in order to improve the economy and environment, but only within limits, and not generally at a risk to their health or by rolling back environmental regulations; - While people believe that the industry has helped to improve the environment in the Valley, they question the companies' commitment to reducing health hazards, and they don't entirely trust them as reliable sources of information; and - Although residents are generally well informed, many people have little trust in the information sources available in the Valley.
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From page 37... ...
On August 18, l9SS, just a week after the aldicarb oxime release, about 350 people attended an emotional meeting at West Virginia State College, whose campus abuts the Union Carbide plant. The meeting was sponsored by People Concerned About MIC," a citizens' organization, and was attended by Robert Kennedy, President of Union Carbide.
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From page 38... ...
In addition, community emergency response organizations employing more sophisticated control centers, such as that in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, have been examined.
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From page 39... ...
S The Public Agenda Foundation,~The Kanawha Valley: A Report on Public Attitudes Toward Economic Benefits and Environmental Risks," The Public Agenda Foundation, New York, January 1986.
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From page 40... ...
Aldicarb oxime was introduced next. A malfunction in a flow meter caused too much oxime to be let in.
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From page 41... ...
41 through the knock-out pot and scrubber to the flare tower. An operator entering the control room heard a rumbling sound from the reactor.
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From page 42... ...
Because of the lack of extensive health effect studies on aldicarb oxime, West Virginia Health Department officials will conduct a long-term study of all 135 people hospitalized after the exposure.
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From page 43... ...
Six Union Carbide employees were hospitilized and are under 24 hour observation as a precautionary measure. The Institute plant physician contacted area hospital emergency rooms within 40 minutes of the inc ident to indicate appropriate treatment for exposure .
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From page 44... ...
~ want to emphasize that the Institute Plant followed the emergency response procedures devised by the Institute - Jest Ounbar^-Pinewood Community Sub-Area Planning Council and adopted by the Kanawha Val ley Emergency Planning Counci 1 (KVEPC)
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From page 45... ...
By 10: 15 a.m., we determined that the release contained a mixture of aldicarb oxime, dichloromethane, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and su lfur compound s and our plant phy s ic fan had completed contact to al 1 area ho s p i ta 1 s to common i cate appropriate treatment f or e x pa su re .
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From page 46... ...
The others are in satisfactory condition without any signs of permanent injury The spokesman stated that the emergency response system worked according to plan and al ~ government authorities and hospital emergency rooms were notified in a time ly fashion . The spokesman stated that tile unit involved contained aldicarb oxime, not methy ~ i socyanate .
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From page 47... ...
11; steps we are taking to help ensure a simi lar incident can be avoided in the future; clarify some aspects of the incident itself; and comments on the community emergency response system as we see it. As of this morning, 15 persons remain hospitalized, one of which is a Union Carbide employee .
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From page 48... ...
The temporary suspension of operations of the aldicarb units at Institute will affect the routine assignments of approximately 60 employees at Institute and another 240 employees at the company ' ~ Woodbine plant. To clarify some aspects regarding the incident on Sunday, let me explain our s tatement of Monday regard ing what we do know about the source of the emi s s ion: It i ~ now suspected that about 500 gal ions of a Id icarb oxime/dichloromethane mixture in a tank overheated when steam entered a jacket on the storage tank resulting in a pressure build-up.
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From page 49... ...
The County emergency directors' organization responded effectively; roadblocks were in place effectively; emergency treatment centers were quickly set up; and the hospital emergency rooms performed most admirably. The good points not withstanding, Union Carbide intends to include as part of its investigation a critical review of this process, for it has implications for the entire chemical industry, not just Union Carbide.
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From page 50... ...
EPIC REPORS ON INSTTTU1E INCIDENT WILL BE MADE —. NEXT NEED, SAYS UNION CARBIDE CHAl`4N C~RLESION, NV, August 16 -- A Union Carbide report on the causes of the incident at the company 's Institute, West Virginia plant will be made next week, Union Carbide Chaiman liarren t4.
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From page 51... ...
I have every degree of confidence in their professionalism and their capabilities . ~ A separate and independent lovestigation of the incident in being conducted by the Union Carbide Board of Directors' health, safety and environmental affairs committee.
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From page 52... ...
3. Communities feel protected against risk Respondents felt reasonably protected from environmental risks because the federal government had forced companies to improve health and safety -- even though they had strong concerns about EPAts ability to regulate effectively and fairly.
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