The Trump administration has withdrawn a slate of proposed carbon dioxide safety regulations inspired by a pipeline failure that sent nearly fifty people to the hospital with “zombie”-like symptoms, and the new regulator overseeing these matters previously worked as a lobbyist for the pipeline industry.
President Donald Trump’s moves could leave communities exposed to unprecedented dangers as oil and gas companies rush to build an extensive network of such pipelines across the country in order to secure federal tax credits and prolong the life span of fossil fuels.
The draft pipeline regulations, which were introduced by the Department of Transportation in the final week of Joe Biden’s presidency, were hard won and a long time coming. Advocates and experts have been calling for heightened safety requirements since a carbon dioxide pipeline ruptured near the village of Satartia, Mississippi, five years ago — a disaster that confounded local emergency responders, immobilized vehicles, and poisoned unsuspecting victims who report lingering respiratory, cognitive, and neurological impacts years later.
Leaks of highly pressurized carbon dioxide can lead to confusion, unconsciousness, seizures, coma, and death within minutes, depending on the concentration and length of exposure. In Satartia, the asphyxiant gas caused dozens of people to collapse while others began to suffocate and staggered around, too dazed to seek safety, until they were rescued by first responders.
After a multiyear investigation into the incident, regulators announced what they hoped would be “the strongest, most comprehensive standards for carbon dioxide transportation in the world,” according to then deputy administrator Tristan Brown of the Pipeline…
Auteur: Emily Sanders
