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Shell’s $6 Billion ‘Cracker’ Plant Part of ‘Ponzi Scheme for Natural Gas,’ Critic Says
Supporters of Shell’s Pennsylvania Petrochemicals Complex allege it will revive the region’s economy, but critics say it will pollute the environment and harm human health — especially children’s health.
09/19/22
By Paul K. Haeder
Along the banks of the Ohio River, some residents of Pennsylvania towns like Beaver, Vanport, Brighton and Monaca are hoping a $6 billion ethane cracker plant in Potter Township will deliver positive economic benefits, including new jobs.
But others who live in the region are skeptical the plant can deliver on those promises. And some say they’re concerned about the plant’s potential to pollute the environment and harm human health.
Once it’s operational this fall, Shell’s Pennsylvania Petrochemicals Complex — the recipient of a $1.6 billion tax break, the largest ever for the state — will become a major player in U.S. petrochemicals, producing 1.6 million tons of polyethylene annually in the form of nurdles, tiny polyethylene pellets used to manufacture plastic goods.
Beaver County Commissioner Jack Manning expressed a “mostly positive” attitude toward Shell’s project, even though people are leaving his county because of it. Manning spoke earlier this year to Yale Environment 360 of his hope that the petrochemicals industry might restore the region to its former glory days of Big Steel.
Mark Thomas, president of the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance, a nonprofit economic development group, last year told NBC News, “The steel from the [region’s] steel mills not only helped win World War II but built everything from the Empire State Building to the Golden Gate Bridge … and everything in between.”
Indeed, some state and federal officials predict a “regional renaissance,” not only for the jobs these plants might bring, “but also for the development that could be an economic multiplier, or catalyst,” officials said, citing a potential boom for the restaurant and hotel industries, commercial transportation and manufacturing.
“It’s not that the industry by itself will rescue all the communities that need investment,” Thomas said. “But it will create enough of a fire that it can be catalytic.”
The oil industry claims gas supplies in the Ohio River region — sometimes referred to as the Appalachian petrochemical hub — could support as many as five large cracker plants like Shell’s 800-acre complex, which is set to open soon after five years of construction.
However, Eric de Place, one of the authors (with Molly Kiick) of a December 2021 study by the Ohio River Valley Institute on the economic impact of Shell’s large-scale development, said data collected by the study show large-scale development by Shell has failed to produce growth in Beaver County.
de Place told The Defender:
“The supposed revitalization of Beaver County did not happen. Instead, we have people complaining about the noises. There was even a foam release into the river. Complaints about odors. And flaring caused light to be reflected off the clouds. This industry brings with it a ton of environmental problems.”
Along with those “environmental problems” — Shell’s plant, situated 25 miles from Pittsburgh, would emit 2.25 million tons of carbon dioxide a year, wiping out the gains in carbon reduction Pittsburgh planned to achieve by 2030 — critics of the project say it also comes with risks to human health.
Continue to full article:
https://childrenshealthdefense.org/...ll-ethane-cracker-plant-natural-gas-fracking/
Supporters of Shell’s Pennsylvania Petrochemicals Complex allege it will revive the region’s economy, but critics say it will pollute the environment and harm human health — especially children’s health.
09/19/22
By Paul K. Haeder
Along the banks of the Ohio River, some residents of Pennsylvania towns like Beaver, Vanport, Brighton and Monaca are hoping a $6 billion ethane cracker plant in Potter Township will deliver positive economic benefits, including new jobs.
But others who live in the region are skeptical the plant can deliver on those promises. And some say they’re concerned about the plant’s potential to pollute the environment and harm human health.
Once it’s operational this fall, Shell’s Pennsylvania Petrochemicals Complex — the recipient of a $1.6 billion tax break, the largest ever for the state — will become a major player in U.S. petrochemicals, producing 1.6 million tons of polyethylene annually in the form of nurdles, tiny polyethylene pellets used to manufacture plastic goods.
Beaver County Commissioner Jack Manning expressed a “mostly positive” attitude toward Shell’s project, even though people are leaving his county because of it. Manning spoke earlier this year to Yale Environment 360 of his hope that the petrochemicals industry might restore the region to its former glory days of Big Steel.
Mark Thomas, president of the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance, a nonprofit economic development group, last year told NBC News, “The steel from the [region’s] steel mills not only helped win World War II but built everything from the Empire State Building to the Golden Gate Bridge … and everything in between.”
Indeed, some state and federal officials predict a “regional renaissance,” not only for the jobs these plants might bring, “but also for the development that could be an economic multiplier, or catalyst,” officials said, citing a potential boom for the restaurant and hotel industries, commercial transportation and manufacturing.
“It’s not that the industry by itself will rescue all the communities that need investment,” Thomas said. “But it will create enough of a fire that it can be catalytic.”
The oil industry claims gas supplies in the Ohio River region — sometimes referred to as the Appalachian petrochemical hub — could support as many as five large cracker plants like Shell’s 800-acre complex, which is set to open soon after five years of construction.
However, Eric de Place, one of the authors (with Molly Kiick) of a December 2021 study by the Ohio River Valley Institute on the economic impact of Shell’s large-scale development, said data collected by the study show large-scale development by Shell has failed to produce growth in Beaver County.
de Place told The Defender:
“The supposed revitalization of Beaver County did not happen. Instead, we have people complaining about the noises. There was even a foam release into the river. Complaints about odors. And flaring caused light to be reflected off the clouds. This industry brings with it a ton of environmental problems.”
Along with those “environmental problems” — Shell’s plant, situated 25 miles from Pittsburgh, would emit 2.25 million tons of carbon dioxide a year, wiping out the gains in carbon reduction Pittsburgh planned to achieve by 2030 — critics of the project say it also comes with risks to human health.
Continue to full article:
https://childrenshealthdefense.org/...ll-ethane-cracker-plant-natural-gas-fracking/
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