Whenever I read anything by this guy I just think of George Creel and his Committee on Public Information. He's a throwback.
That Methyl Methacrylate Tank
171–180 of 204 posts
Re: That Methyl Methacrylate Tank
#172Being an armchair expert, I wondered if they couldn't have flown a quadcopter with a small drilling machine and drill a hole on the top to relive pressure?
First, there's probably a pressure relief system already on the tank.
The problem is that is analogous to drilling a hole in a pressure cooker, it's either going to rupture the tank entirely, or blast the contents into the air.
Also curious where you would get a "quadcopter with a small drilling machine" with a couple hours' notice; even if you had one, it would be hard to maintain a position at one exact spot, and much of the lift energy would be expended in the torque reaction of the drill.
Re: That Methyl Methacrylate Tank
#173Being an armchair expert, I wondered if they couldn't have flown a quadcopter with a small drilling machine and drill a hole on the top to relive pressure?
All process tanks I've seen have various cleanout hatches, drain valves, pressure relief blowoff valves... even your water heater has these. Not sure about this tank in particular and obviously there were no easy answers in this particular event, but hopefully lessons will be learned.
Re: That Methyl Methacrylate Tank
#174Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have read the rules are tighter in most EU nations. There is jurisdiction shopping of course. If china or wherever wants to have really lax rules, and that means production moves there, I’m not sure what the answer is. But, for this product (making plexiglass like things), I expect all the consumer production has gone overseas anyway. This is defense / aerospace, so it probably can’t move.
The answer is actually really easy, and it's been implemented successfully before: selective import taxes. You set import taxes so that they offset price advantages. If a country has shitty environmental laws, crappy labor protections, etc. then you prices that into their import taxes. That way they don't gain any advantages in a race to the bottom based on things that you care about in your own country. If a country…
Or we could just let it go offshore? Do we have to do everything here?
Re: That Methyl Methacrylate Tank
#175Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Why wouldn't there be passive protection systems designed in? Because the US chemical industry has been effectively unregulated for a century and can do whatever it pleases. There's a neutralizing chemical that could have been injected to stop the exothermic reaction in its tracks. They didn't have it on site. A "response team" (likely a contractor that responds to chemical emergencies) did, but by the time they sh…
Hell, it’s still amazing there was so little fallout after Bhopal.
I worked with someone whose father drove his whole family out of the killing zone in Bhopal on a two wheeler. There might not have been a strong international movement to enforce safety first behavior on transnationals, but there was fall out.
Re: That Methyl Methacrylate Tank
#176Earlier quoted context omitted.
Are you alleging that California claims stuff to be carcinogenic without evidence? Do you have a supposed motive? Any evidence? Whilst it's a bit of a meme, isn't it just true that a lot of stuff is carcinogenic.
Well, the “experts” say a charred steak is carcinogenic. At that point, I stopped listening to anything out of their mouths. It might be true, but it’s also a matter of degree. California has set such a low threshold that one cannot take their label seriously about anything. It applies to nearly everything, making it effectively a useless warning.
It also never lists the specific substances nor what one can do about it (not enter the building, don’t lick the ceiling, wear a mask, whatever). Good intentioned but utterly useless.
Re: That Methyl Methacrylate Tank
#177Derek Lowe is always such a great read, one of the few good things I discovered during the pandemic
Re: That Methyl Methacrylate Tank
#178Being an armchair expert, I wondered if they couldn't have flown a quadcopter with a small drilling machine and drill a hole on the top to relive pressure?
First, there's probably a pressure relief system already on the tank. The problem is that is analogous to drilling a hole in a pressure cooker, it's either going to rupture the tank entirely, or blast the contents into the air. Also curious where you would get a "quadcopter with a small drilling machine" with a couple hours' notice; even if you had one, it would be hard to maintain a position at one exact spot, and m…
I am seeing papers go by from Chinese researchers who are interested in things like using drones to do maintenance on sea platforms and they'd definitely be interested in attaching drills to drones and the like.
Re: That Methyl Methacrylate Tank
#179Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hell, it’s still amazing there was so little fallout after Bhopal.
I worked with someone whose father drove his whole family out of the killing zone in Bhopal on a two wheeler. There might not have been a strong international movement to enforce safety first behavior on transnationals, but there was fall out.
Sorry, the human impact was enormous. I meant in terms of holding the people who caused it to account.
Re: That Methyl Methacrylate Tank
#180Earlier quoted context omitted.
Are you alleging that California claims stuff to be carcinogenic without evidence? Do you have a supposed motive? Any evidence? Whilst it's a bit of a meme, isn't it just true that a lot of stuff is carcinogenic.
California’s threshold is far too low to be useful. The end result is basically https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alarm_fatigue
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acrylamide
is the one that gets me. Fried snacks from Asia frequently have a Prop 65 warning. Thing is it is produced by ordinary cooking techniques from ordinary and can be found in both traditional and ultra-processed foods.