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Ever have trouble keeping your hot water heater pilot light on? It's annoying, yes, but the worst repercussion is a surprise cold shower.
Pilot light problems occur in the petrochemical world, too, but the repercussions are decidedly more consequential.
In the case of a Dow Chemical Co. plant in Texas City, the consequences are 1,216 pounds of volatile organic compounds and 218 pounds of carbon monoxide that spewed into the atmosphere last March.
All of it was avoidable, as the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality explained, if Dow had kept the pilot light on its flare lit.
Doh!
The commission fined Dow $6,725 for not leaving the light on.
-- Steve Olafson
Keep the Houston Press Free... Since we started the Houston Press, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Houston, and we would like to keep it that way. Offering our readers free access to incisive coverage of local news, food and culture. Producing stories on everything from political scandals to the hottest new bands, with gutsy reporting, stylish writing, and staffers who've won everything from the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi feature-writing award to the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism. But with local journalism's existence under siege and advertising revenue setbacks having a larger impact, it is important now more than ever for us to rally support behind funding our local journalism. You can help by participating in our "I Support" membership program, allowing us to keep covering Houston with no paywalls.
