Does living within incineration distance of an Liquid Natural Gas storage facility get you ten percent of the asking price of a new condo? Yesterday, when we were looking up documents about Radiac in Williamsburg, we came across the Liquid Natural Gas issue in East Williamsburg and started wondering. Here’s a sense of the issue about Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) Storage on the KeySpan site in East Williamsburg:
LNG is a condensed and super-cooled natural gas, which is highly explosive and, if ignited or attacked by airplane or missile, would create a fireball reaching Manhattan that would incinerate everything in its path. There is now no trained Haz Mat or foam company within CD#1.
Those words are from the alarmists at Community Board 1 that prepared the statement in response to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Greenpoint-Williamsburg Rezoning. No Haz Mat teams in the area? Incinerating fireballs?
If you pooh pooh the terrorism threat, there’s still always the chance of accident, and they do happen. Like an LNG explosion in 1973 in Staten Island that killed 43 people. As for LNG itself, it’s exceptionally combustible when it warms and it burns hotter than gasoline or oil. LNG “pool fires” can’t be put out. They have to burn themselves out.
Silly us. We always wondered what those ominous looking tanks in the distance were. Now that we know they’re Liquid Natural Gas, we’d definitely think twice about moving within fireball incineration distance. Sure, the odds are minimal, and residents have lived with the threat for generations, but everybody should at least be aware of what’s stored in the tanks.
It’s always good to know what’s out there to worry about when we feel like worrying about something we can’t control.
3 responses so far ↓
1 Anonymous // May 11, 2007 at 8:28 am
The poster should consider moving out of NY to Wyoming where he’ll be free to get raped by bears and not have to worry about all the dangers associated with living in a large city, specifically a post-industrial neighborhood like Williamsburg. There are many environmental concerns which need to be addressed, but that is/was the case with almost any neighborhood in manhattan. Look at SoHo, which 15 years ago was a light industrial area – look at the meatpacking district, which is still in the process of cleaning up various environmental issues.
2 Anonymous // May 11, 2007 at 9:05 am
I guess hot, hot hot Williamsburg might take on a slightly different meaning.
3 Greenpoint Archive // May 11, 2007 at 9:25 am
Isn’t the lack of exaggeration when it comes to an environmental issue located in Williamsburg, and not Greenpoint, revealing. Commenter # 1 is actually trying to play it down. The fifty year old Standard oil spill on the Newtown Creek was renamed the Greenpoint oil spill last year in an attempt to mislead the public about phony health issues. The Roebling oil spill (aka Williamsburg oil spill) never even makes it in the press. Williamsburg is getting a taste of what a smear campaign feels like when it is unleashed on a community.
Lets do a toxic score card.
Liquid Natural Gas storage facilities in Williamsburg: Yes, in East Williamsburg
Liquid Natural Gas storage facilities in Greenpoint: none
Radioactive storage facilities in Williamsburg: Radiac on Kent Ave
Radioactive storage facilities in Greenpoint: none
Williamsburg oil spill size: Unknown (it might be even bigger than the Exxon Valdez) The Astral oil company operated on the Williamsburg waterfront for decades and may have spilled over 100 million gallons of oil into the ground under Williamsburg contaminating ground water and creating toxic vapors. Many of Williamsburg’s cancer victims may have died because of this oil contamination. Many more may die in the future. Williamsburg’s high cancer rates may now be better understood. How many new residents know about the potential deadly health risks that this oil poses?
Greenpoint oil spill size: defined and now half its original size.
Williamsburg oil spill location: Under newly developed luxury condos and possibly under the majority of the developing community. The full devastating results can only be determined by a lengthy study.
Greenpoint oil spill location: Under the remote industrial property next to the East Williamsburg industrial park.
Greenpoint condos being built on former toxic brownfields: none
Williamsburg condos being built on toxic brownfields: Many (including the Eastern District Site, and now the Williamsburg Oil field site)
Blogs dedicated to spreading lies about toxic hazards in Williamsburg: Hard to find
Blogs dedicated to spreading lies about toxic hazards in Greenpoint: You can hardly swing a stick without hitting one.
The Billyburg liars are getting found out. Truth has a way of surfacing when you give it time. A little taste of your own medicine.