Recent comments in /f/baltimore

Matt3989 t1_je081jv wrote

>So how is your conclusion that discharging effluent at 4 ppm into the sewers is totally cool?

EPA limits are for vinyl chloride 2ppb. The highest concentration in the waste that was meant for here was 62ppb (or 0.062ppm). So yeah, pretty sure they weren't going to discharge at 4ppm...

>This is quite different I would think than dumping a huge amount of effluent that still has significant amounts of it into, effectively, the bay.

I think your sizes are off, 600,000 gallons is not a "huge amount" in this context.

My point is that you clearly have no idea what you're talking about. You've read a headline and are now outraged, and after this week you'll go about your life unaware of all the waste water that Clean Harbors treats and discharges to the sewer system.

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unusuallylethargic t1_je05qlo wrote

I really have two responses to this, first, yes of course I can claim that, because a small handful of VC incidents over 30 years of course doesn't contradict my point that we don't currently have any VC in the harbor or bay. Anyway, second more in depth response:

Yes, there have been a few incidents where vinyl chloride has been detected in small areas in the watershed. These are brief points in time and not a consistent presence of VC. This is quite different I would think than dumping a huge amount of effluent that still has significant amounts of it into, effectively, the bay. And to be clear, one of your links doesn't show a vinyl chloride leak, it lists VC as a chemical of concern. Another shows that it was detected at just over 1 ppb in a very small area. The Frog Martin link says that was an area of concern because, in part, vinyl chloride was found in the area (at a concentration of 0.7 ppb). The sum of all of this is that the detection of virtually any vinyl chloride in any area in the Chesapeake watershed has been a Big Deal. So how is your conclusion that discharging effluent at 4 ppm into the sewers is totally cool?

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avoca_ho t1_je04tug wrote

Reply to comment by [deleted] in Income based rent? by morgeous4526

LOL the implication that anyone who cares about poor people must also be poor and jobless. 😂😂😂 I have a job and I pay my taxes so that people who have less can receive the help they need.

It costs $0 to not be a jackass 🤷🏻‍♀️

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Downtown_Elk6072 t1_je041hm wrote

Astronomy on Tap is returning to Baltimore, on March 29th at Guilford Hall Brewery! Come hear free, accessible, and fun talks from the folks bringing us these amazing new views of space.

This installment AoT Baltimore will have astronomy stars:
(1) Nestor Espinoza discussing “Alien Worlds Through the Lens of Space Telescopes”,
(2) Joshua Peek with “Space is Hot”, and
(3) Trisha Ashley talking about “BadA$$ Women in Astronomy Herstory!
During our intermission, we will also have astronomy trivia, so bring your thinking caps and your favorite trivia team!

Find out more information here: https://www.guilfordhall.com/event-details/astronomy-on-tap-2

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z3mcs OP t1_je02wp8 wrote

>The wastewater that was scheduled to arrive in Baltimore from the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment will be processed elsewhere, treatment company Clean Harbors said Tuesday morning.

>“While we are confident that our Baltimore facility is safe to handle and process that waste, as we have made clear from the beginning of this process, we would only be moving forward with the approval of all federal, state and local regulators,” Clean Harbors spokesman Jim Buckley said.

>The news comes in response to a move by Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott to deny the Southwest Baltimore facility the ability to dump the treated wastewater from Ohio into the city’s sewer system and wastewater plant.

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Matt3989 t1_je01yzd wrote

>We don't have any detectable vinyl chloride in the bay or harbor right now

How can you claim that? We've shown it multiple times, in multiple areas of the Bay, over the last 30 years:

Frog Mortar Creek, near Martin State Airport (2014)

EPA found 19 OCPSF and 12 Petroleum Refining facilities as the worst offenders in the Chesapeake in 2004, Vinyl Chloride was a subcategory of note within OCPSFs

Chesapeake Watershed Chemical's of Concern (2000)

Indian Acres on the Sassafras in 1996

I saw a few other sources published by Williams and Mary in 1992, but the scans didn't have OCR and were tough to navigate.

>If you read my comment my concern isnt that the company isnt capable of treating the waste its that the 'acceptable levels' of toxins in the effluent are not acceptable to me.

Again, this facility specializes in this, it's within their purview, they've probably handled Vinyl Chloride or other Chlor-Alkalis before (and likely worse on a regular basis), you just haven't been paying attention because it hasn't made national news.

It's totally fine if you've now decided that this is a concern, but then why are we just stopping this single occasion? The industrial waste treatment plant should be completely closed, right?

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K_N0RRIS t1_je00bkz wrote

I ride down Orleans street by hopkins all the time windows down and theres a ton of them along the road. Just smells like eastiside to me. I see the trees and think theyre really beautiful. It sucks to know that people are dying slowly inside just going by them lol. I'm gonna go sniff a tree to see if its really just me.

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