If you run a News Search on Google for chlorine gas, a plethora of recent events would welcome you:
- August 5, 2015 Grand Rapids water treatment plant evacuated after accidental chemical tank mix up.
- June 2, 2015 a North Carolina data center chlorine gas leak injured 5 workers after they were exposed to the noxious fumes.
- January 21, 2015 Parsippany, NY a chlorine gas leak sickened four hospital workers and OSHA fined the facility for $60,000.
Do you want to see the very same poisonous gas ISIS uses as a chemical weapon in YOUR neighborhood?
Sorry for a harsh attention gathering title here. The fact of the matter is that chlorine gas is used as a chemical weapon these days in Middle East primarily because it’s the most abundant method to treat water, and can very easily be stolen and “weaponized”. Even more frightening, many water treatment plants in the United States use chlorine gas in great abundance with thousands of tons stored on location at all times.
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This is obviously not falling on deaf ears. We are already seeing the shift from chlorine gas to more sustainable disinfection methods, such as on-site sodium hypochlorite generators. However, the shift is still very slow and the challenges are all very common:
- Resistance to Change
Changing the status quo is typically undesirable. By nature, many people are resistant to change.
- If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it
If everything is running well today, why change it?
- Money Talks
Plus, chlorine gas is still the cheapest disinfectant you can find in the market place.
So, how do we convince people to change?
I believe it would quite help provide additional incentives and education to the water treatment plant owners and operators so that we can completely get rid of this chemical weapon in our neighborhoods.
It is time to do something different.
Please feel free to reach out to me with your ideas at cem.candir@miox.com
Chlorine gas is used as chemical warfare agent
Tags: drinking water disinfection, eliminate chlorine gas, industrial water treatment, mixed oxidant solution, sodium hypochlorite generator
