As clearly evident by our warming planet and chaotic weather patterns, sacrificing our delicate ecosystems have become an unnerving precedent in the name of progress. Industrial encroachment for the sake of commercialization places unnecessary strain on already heavily inflicted environment. Toxic byproducts and industrial wastes permeate pristine waterways without impunity. Manufacturers and their sordid lobbyists filibuster curtailing legislation while corporate lawyers search for archaic precedents to support their client’s negligent storage practices. All along, environmentalists continue to wonder, ‘Where is the accountability?’ Chemical storage compliance has unfortunately become a regulatory luxury for companies looking to pad the bottom line.
In Virginia, activists and public watchdog groups have recently taken issue with the udder and utter disregard for laws governing large aboveground chemical storage tanks. While similar regulations exist for petroleum products, any industrial manufacturer, in theory, could build a large chemical storage tank and inventory as much flammable or toxic material as they wished without due diligence reporting or safeguarding the immediate vicinity from egregious leaks and spills. Stymying the efforts of activists and policy makers is the perceived lack of federal oversight that gives such legislation its real “teeth” for enforcement. And as the case with any other hot button topic of the day, pollution and its effect on global warming is evolving into a partisan issue. Roadblock after roadblock and backend compromises, like totally irrelevant legislation to satisfy closeminded constituents, being tagged at the last second continues to kill potential legislation.
While the federal Environmental Protection Agency regulates aboveground storage tanks containing oil, it does not have a specific program to regulate such tanks when they contain hazardous substances.
“We have no inventory,” he said. “There’s no legal obligation to alert anyone if you build the tank or operate a tank containing hazardous chemicals…Virginia is quite possibly the most vulnerable jurisdiction on the eastern seaboard when it comes to climate impacts”
Source: virginiamercury.com
Progress Just For the Sake of Progress?
Vote-seeking politicians, emboldened by their out-of-touch sycophants, seem to care more about appearances than compliance and protecting our environment. Chemical storage compliance, specially hazardous waste, is nasty business. Even green energies rely on potentially toxic and flammable liquids for complicated heat transfer processes. Like with any endothermic manufacturing or production process, waste, which is rarely biodegradable, is inevitable. So the question still remains, “How do you dispose of the waste?”
In Burlington, Vermont, the town’s planning board recently debated the aesthetics of the not-so-low profile of a proposed hazardous waste storage building that will be erected at life science business in town. The building will be used to properly store hazardous waste from the adjacent facility before it is collected by a separate disposal company. With aesthetics in mind, the town’s planning board were worried that they might set a precedent for similar buildings, which resemble large retrofitted shipping containers. It appears the town’s board cares more about aesthetics and keeping things “looking pretty” as opposed to chemical storage compliance. What town officials fail to consider that “ugly” or “bulky” hazardous waste storage lockers will keep their town’s streams and scenery green and pristine. Failure to allow such facilities will invariably result in pollution and a public health fiasco.
Hazardous Waste Storage Lockers Ensure Chemical Storage Compliance
As environmental stewards, townships owe it to their tax paying citizenry to provide compliant household waste storage options to keep their lakes and streams pristine for future generations. Because our fire-rated storage lockers are equipped with metal partitioned walls, we can provide segregated chemical storage for hazardous waste items based on corrosivity, toxicity and flammability, all under one roof. Our compliant hazardous waste storage lockers can alleviate temporary storage dilemmas until the waste can be collected and properly disposed of by an independent contractor.