Chemical Explosions, Right-To-Know, and the Local Media. S. M. Friedman, Department of Journalism and Communication, Lehigh University
On February 19, 1999, an explosion at a two-month-old chemical plant in Allentown, Pa., killed 5 people, injured 11 others and caused $5 million worth of damage. The plant was located in an industrial park and was distilling hydroxylamine when the plant exploded. A chemical plume from the explosion floated over and then deposited mildly hazardous chemicals on parts of Allentown. The explosion is being investigated by the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. This paper explores through interviews with personnel from the local newspaper and television station how these two medium-sized media outlets organized to cover this emergency; in particular, how reporters and editors found out and interpreted information about the properties of the unfamiliar chemical involved and its potential effects on city residents, rescue personnel and chemical plant employees. Neither media outlet had full-time science or environmental reporters to help them cover the story. It also investigates how these reporters learned about and then pursued information about the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) and Pennsylvania’s Right-To-Know Law (Act 165) related to this chemical plant and other chemical facilities in the region. It discusses local media performance from the perspectives of both the emergency officials onsite during the explosion and of LEPC and other officials related to follow-up coverage after the accident.
Go to . . .
1999 SRA Table of Contents
1999 SRA Author Index
Main Abstracts Menu Page
RiskWorld Home Page