Posted on 05/09/2005 7:34:19 PM PDT by Selkie
KEARNY, New Jersey It is the deadliest target in a swath of industrial northern New Jersey that terrorism experts call the most dangerous two miles in America: a chemical plant that processes chlorine gas, so close to Manhattan that the Empire State Building seems to rise up behind its storage tanks.
According to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency records, the plant poses a potentially lethal threat to 12 million people who live within a 14-mile, of 22-kilometer, radius.
Yet on a recent Friday afternoon, it remained loosely guarded and accessible. Dozens of trucks and cars drove by within 100 feet, or 30 meters, of the tanks. A car carrying a reporter and photographer drove back and forth for five minutes, snapping photos with a camera the size of a large sidearm, then drove off without being approached.
That chemical plant is just one of dozens of vulnerable sites between Newark Liberty International Airport and Port Elizabeth, which extends two miles to the east. A congressional study in 2000 by a former Coast Guard commander deemed it the nation's most enticing environment for terrorists, providing a convenient way to cripple the economy by disrupting major portions of the country's rail lines, oil refineries, pipelines, air traffic, communications networks and highway system.
Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, those concerns have only been magnified. Law enforcement officials have warned of the need to prepare for an assault on one of the four major chemical plants in the area or an attempt to ship nuclear or biological weapons through its two port complexes.
Trying to safeguard more than 100 potential terrorist targets in two miles surrounded by residential communities, industrial areas and commuter corridors has proved a daunting challenge.
(Excerpt) Read more at iht.com ...
Sounds lovely.
Wow. I'm glad they reported this. It is now an even bigger target. Great work!
Why do they write articles like this to do brainstorming for terrorists? Hey terrorists, here are our best targets, get to it. What is the mentality of this newspaper?
I just hope the terrorists don't find out about our "top secret" defense infrastructure in San Francisco. It would be a disaster if they were to blow THAT place up!
Hehe
The story has been on all the locals news for NYC area tonight.
Amazing isn't it? What could they be thinking?
Sadly, we haven't learned our lesson yet. Not enough people have died. I'm sorry to say that it will take another 911 before we finally shut down the borders and get rid of all people that have no business being in this country. The people will demand it.
Well, for one thing they'll send any potential terrorists on a wild goose chase. The article says the chemical plany is located in Kearny, NJ -- between Newark Airport and Elizabeth Seaport. But Kearny is situated a few miles north of these two sites, so I have no idea where this so-called "target" is located.
Story is coming on local news on NBC in a few minutes.
...two words:
Unsecured borders.
Bre'r Bear, Bre'r Wolf - whatever you do, don't throw me in that thicket...
Could it be maskirovka, and the press doesn't know it?
I recommend purchasing a gas mask for every vehicle and perhaps a supply of oxygen bottles, then.
I'm confident there is a government publication that list them all that you can get from the Government Printing Office in Pueblo Colorado for $3.50!
The NYT busting it's ass to inform the terrorists of this "target" and outline it's access. Won't mind at all if the disaster wipes out 80% of NYT's staff. Reckon they should let their union workers in on it?
Didn't you hear? That facility was moved to downtown Detroit.
C'mon, terrorists KNOW what targets exist in this nation. Believe me, an article in the paper isn't going to make them think "Oh, yeah! Let's blow up that place!".
tons of aerial photos and maps here
http://cryptome.quintessenz.org/mirror/chem/chem-danger.htm
http://cryptome.quintessenz.org/mirror/chem/nj.html
NEW JERSEY
The 25 Facilities in New Jersey storing the largest amounts of extremely hazardous substances.*
Facility Name City Maximum amount in a single process (lbs) Chemical
1 GENERAL CHEMICAL CORPORATION NEWARK 5,000,000 Oleum (Fuming Sulfuric acid)
2 GATX TERMINALS CORPORATION - CARTERET TERMINAL CARTERET 3,505,302 Vinyl acetate monomer
3 BASF CORPORATION WASHINGTON NJ SITE WASHINGTON 3,200,000 Propylene oxide
4 AIR PRODUCTS POLYMERS LP DAYTON 3,000,000 Vinyl acetate monomer
5 DUPONT CHAMBERS WORKS DEEPWATER 2,710,000 Chlorine
6 AUSIMONT USA, INC.- THOROFARE PLANT THOROFARE 2,000,000 Hydrogen fluoride (conc >=50%)
7 HERCULES INCORPORATED - PARLIN PLANT PARLIN 1,700,000 Nitric acid (conc >=80%)
8 IMTT-BAYONNE BAYONNE 1,649,935 Ethylenediamine
9 SOLUTIA DELAWARE RIVER PLANT BRIDGEPORT 1,440,000 Chlorine
10 VALERO REFINING CO. - NEW JERSEY PAULSBORO 1,200,000 Hydrogen sulfide
11 INFINEUM USA L.P. BAYWAY CHEMICAL PLANT LINDEN 1,100,000 Chlorine
12 KUEHNE CHEMICAL CO., INC. SOUTH KEARNY 999,999 Chlorine
13 AKZO NOBEL CHEMICALS INC. EDISON 750,000 Titanium tetrachloride
14 MIDDLESEX COUNTY UTILITIES AUTHORITY SAYREVILLE 720,000 Chlorine
15 COGEN TECHNOLOGIES LINDEN VENTURE, LP LINDEN 560,000 Ammonia (conc >=20%)
16 AIR PRODUCTS AND CHEMICALS, INC. PAULSBORO 410,000 Toluene diisocyanate (unspecified isomer)
17 FISHER SCIENTIFIC COMPANY - SOMERVILLE SITE -USEPA BRIDGEWATER 400,000 Chloroform
18 BFGOODRICH PEDRICKTOWN PLANT PEDRICKTOWN 370,000 Acrylonitrile
19 SCHWEITZER-MAUDUIT INTERNATIONAL, INC. SPOTSWOOD 360,000 Chlorine
20 GENERAL FOAM -EAST RUTHERFORD, LLC EAST RUTHERFORD 360,000 Toluene diisocyanate (unspecified isomer)
21 UNION CARBIDE CORPORATION - UCAR EMULSION SYSTEMS SOMERSET 312,800 Vinyl acetate monomer
22 BENJAMIN MOORE & COMPANY, NEWARK, NJ PLANT NEWARK 310,800 Vinyl acetate monomer
23 HETERENE CHEMICAL CO., INC. PATERSON 250,000 Ethylene oxide
24 COLORITE POLYMERS BURLINGTON 224,000 Vinyl acetate monomer
25 CIBA SPECIALTY CHEMICALS WATER TREATMENTS, INC. OLD BRIDGE 210,000 Methyl chloride
*Extremely hazardous substances as defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Clean Air Act, Section 112(r).
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