After Harvey, Houston suburb suffers a persistent problem: waves of foul air
Source: The Guardian
After Harvey, Houston suburb suffers a persistent problem: waves of foul air
Air pollution is a perpetual issue for the mostly Latino community in Manchester encircled by industrial facilities
Tom Dart in Houston
Mon 29 Jan 2018 10.00 GMT
When water reached the front steps of her house, driven by the storm, Yenny Ramirez was worried about more than Harveys floods. A strange smell drifted through her neighbourhood.
The odour was extremely strong, thick, she said. During the storm we were inside. We couldnt really go outside. At one point we turned off the A/C just so the smell wouldnt be so bad.
The Houston suburb of Manchester did not suffer the extensive flooding brought by Harvey around the region. But rainfall did cause a tank failure at a refinery, leading to a leak of chemicals including of benzene, a carcinogen just a fraction of nearly 5.3m lbs of unauthorised pollutants that were attributed to the storm, according to an Environmental Defense Fund analysis.
The leaks underlined that Harveys damage was not only at ground level, but advocates and residents fear that the citys full attention will be on reconstruction and flood prevention and that air quality wont be a priority. While Augusts rains inundated rich and poor alike, air pollution in Houston disproportionately affects low-income, mainly Latino communities next to industrial facilities, such as Manchester.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/29/houston-manchester-hurricane-harvey-texas-foul-air