Monday, September 23, 2024

Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community, Partners Release New Disability-Centered Guidance For Transportation Accidents, Petrochemical Plant Spills, Releases

On September 23, the
Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community and the Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies announced they have collaborated with disabled disaster survivors and partners to develop first-of-its-kind Disability-Centered Guidance for Petrochemical Disasters that considers the unique challenges facing people with disabilities.

“Despite frequent petrochemical and climate disasters, the federal government has not updated its disaster guidance relative to people with disabilities since 2014,” said co-author Hilary Flint, Director of Communications and Community Engagement for the Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community. “And yet, after a disaster, people with disabilities are far less likely to be able to return home.”

A National Council on Disability 2023 report on the “Impacts of Extreme Weather Events on People with Disabilities” revealed that “people with disabilities are still 2 to 4 times more likely to be injured or killed in a natural disaster than those who are not disabled.” 

“The consequences of petrochemical disasters can be devastating for humans and the environment,” the guidance states. “Their impacts range from immediate death and injury to long-term health issues including cancer, birth defects and damage to infrastructure and ecosystems.”

“In the wake of a disaster, when the evacuation vehicles arrive and they are not wheelchair accessible, imagine what that means for people who rely on wheelchairs,” said co-author Jason Hallmark of Climate Reality. “People with disabilities are not a monolith and we need to prepare accordingly.” 

Hallmark says disabilities include aging, blindness, deafness, intellectual or developmental disabilities, needing a wheelchair, or having a health condition that is made worse from heat or makes one more susceptible to health harms from toxics exposure. 

Local government and response partners like the American Red Cross “must ensure…they are meeting their obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and other laws protecting the civil rights and civil liberties of disabled people,” according to the guidance.

To do that, the Disability-Centered Guidance for Petrochemical Disasters recommends: 

-- Providing open and transparent communications about possible risks and impacts from chemicals and contamination;

-- Ensuring all communications are in plain language delivered in alternate formats compatible with screen readers;

-- Involving cross-disability diverse people and organizations in the development of crisis communications plans;

-- Including American Sign Language (ASL) interpreting and captioning during all press conferences;

-- Ensuring all points of service delivery and evacuation are ADA compliant.

“People with disabilities have had to learn how to adapt to a world that wasn’t built for them,” said Germán Parodi, Co-Executive Director of the Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies, one of the lead authors of the new guidance, and a wheelchair-using first responder.  “We have much to learn from them that can improve emergency preparation for all.”

Click Here for a copy of the Disability-Centered Guidance for Petrochemical Disasters.

A project of the People Over Petro Coalition People Power Working Group, the guidance was developed by Climate Reality and the Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community in collaboration with the Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - September 21 to 27 - Gas Storage Areas Wells Leaking; Failure To Comply With Orders, Failure To Report Fracking Chemicals; Bubbling Conventional Pipeline Leak  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Issues Violations To 3 Shale Gas Drillers For Failing To Report Fracking Chemicals, Including At EQT’s Lumber Well Pad In Greene County  [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - September 28 [PaEN]

-- DEP: Comments Due Oct. 21 On New 16-Inch Natural Gas Pipeline Being Built In Springfield, Troy, West Burlington & Granville Townships, Bradford County  [PaEN] 

-- The Energy Age Blog: Range Resources Applies For More Shale Gas Wells In Cecil Twp., Washington County - Drilling Close To Home-- Literally!

-- DEP Posted 73 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In September 28 PA Bulletin  [PaEN]

20 Years Of Shale Gas

-- Observer-Reporter: Local Officials Have Had To Grapple With Fracking Since It’s Arrival - Cecil Township, Washington County   [Part II]  [PDF of Article]

-- Observer-Reporter: ‘Shale Revolution:’ A Look Back At 20 Years Of Gas Drilling In Southwest PA  [Part I]  [PDF of Article]

Related Articles This Week:

-- Physicians For Social Responsibility PA’s Dr. Ned Ketyer Shares Summary Of Studies Of Shale Gas Development Impacts On Human Health  [PaEN] 

-- US DOE: China Is Biggest Destination For US LNG Gas Exports; PA Shale Gas Industry Says We Have ‘Duty’ To Export Gas To China, Our Military, Economic Competitor  [PaEN]

-- House Committee Meets Oct. 1 To Consider Bill To Diversify Energy Generation, Improve Grid Reliability, Lower Consumer Energy Costs  [PaEN]

-- PA House Republicans Introduce Bill Creating An Energy Advocate With Power To Veto Any Action By Any State Agency That Harms Energy Reliability, Affordability  [PaEN]

-- Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community, Partners Release New Disability-Centered Guidance For Transportation Accidents, Petrochemical Plant Spills, Releases  [PaEN]

-- PUC: No Evidence Allegheny County Home Explosion Where 2 Died Related To Columbia Gas Facilities; Allegheny County, DEP Investigations Continue  [PaEN] 

NewsClips:

-- Marcellus Drilling News: EQT Gas Driller Says Natural Gas Price Spikes Coming Next Year Moving From $2 to $3 Range Up To As High As $9   [PDF of Article]   [PA Is 59% Dependent On Gas To Generate Electricity]  

-- Baker Hughes: PA Natural Gas Drilling Rigs At 14, Same As Last Week - Down 33% Since Aug. 23 [Industry Efforts To Increase Natural Gas Prices Continue]

-- Bloomberg: Top Investor In US Oil, Gas Companies Says Shale Producers No Longer In Position To Ramp Up Output To Give Consumers A Break On Energy Prices 

-- Marcellus Drilling News: EQT Gas To Begin Reversing Curtailed Production Starting In October  [PDF of Article]

-- The Energy Age Blog: Doctor Summarizes Health Studies On Shale Gas Development Health Impacts 

-- Capital & Main - Audrey Carleton: CNX Resources: Our Operations Pose No Health Risk; You Can’t Be Serious, Activists Say 

-- Inquirer/Capital & Main - Audrey Carleton: CNX Resources: Our Operations Pose No Health Risk; You Can’t Be Serious, Activists Respond

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: CNX Resources Tells Gas Industry - Public Health Issues Won’t Just Go Away Without Transparency

-- Marcellus Drilling News: PA Lawsuit Over Radioactive Drill Cuttings At Mercer County Landfill Heads To Commonwealth Court Hearing Oct. 8  [PDF of Article]

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Expand Energy Corp New Name For Merged Chesapeake Energy- Southwestern Energy Gas Producers; Will Be Largest In US 

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Propane Involved In Crescent Twp. House Explosion, Investigation Shows 

-- TribLive: PUC: Natural Gas Service Not To Blame For Fatal Crescent Township House Explosion

-- TribLive: Natural Gas Sensor Alert Leads To Brief Evacuation At New Stanton Vo-Tech School After Teachers Say Gas Meters Had Levels ‘A Little Higher Than Normal’

-- The Allegheny Front: Study: Colleges With Fossil Fuel Funding Can Become ‘Vehicle Of Climate Obstruction’ 

[Posted: September 23, 2024]  PA Environment Digest

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