Showing posts with label HOUSTON. Show all posts
Showing posts with label HOUSTON. Show all posts

Monday, March 23, 2015

ORION SPACECRAFT SUIT BEING TESTED AT JOHNSON SPACE CENTER

FROM:  NASA

Engineers and technicians at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston are testing the spacesuit astronauts will wear in the agency’s Orion spacecraft on trips to deep space. On March 17, members of the Johnson team participated in a Vacuum Pressure Integrated Suit Test to verify enhancements to the suit will meet test and design standards for the Orion spacecraft.  During this test, the suit is connected to life support systems and then air is removed from Johnson’s 11-foot thermal vacuum chamber to evaluate the performance of the suits in conditions similar to a spacecraft. The suit, known as the Modified Advanced Crew Escape Suit, is a closed-loop version of the launch and entry suits worn by space shuttle astronauts. The suit will contain all the necessary functions to support life and is being designed to enable spacewalks and sustain the crew in the unlikely event the spacecraft loses pressure. This is the first in a series of four tests with people in the suits to evaluate the performance of the spacesuit systems in an environment similar to a spacecraft.  Image Credit: NASA/ Bill Stafford

Sunday, March 30, 2014

HOUSTON MAN FACES MANY YEARS IN PRISON FOR THREATENING TO BOMB TWO SYNAGOGUES

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, March 27, 2014
Houston Man Charged with Threatening to Bomb Synagogues

The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas announced today that a federal grand jury in Houston returned a six count indictment charging Dante Phearse, 33, with calling in bomb threats to two Houston synagogues, a municipal courthouse and a private business.  

Phearse, of Houston, has been charged with two civil rights violations for threat of force with an explosive device against two synagogues, which allegedly obstructed members of the synagogues from enjoying the free exercise of their religious beliefs.  Phearse is also charged with four counts of using an instrument of interstate commerce to communicate a threat to kill and injure people and destroy a building by means of an explosive device.  

The indictment alleges that on April 30, 2013, Phearse telephoned two different synagogues in Houston, Congregation Beth Israel and Congregation Or Ami, and left voicemails threatening to bomb the buildings and cause other harms to the members.  According to the indictment, on the same day, Phearse also called in and threatened to bomb the City of Houston Municipal Courts building and a private business.    

If convicted, Phearse faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each civil rights violation, and a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for each count of making bomb threats over the phone.  Phearse has been in custody since his arrest.  He is expected to make an initial appearance on the indictment in the near future, at which time the U.S. expects to request his continued detention pending trial.  

This case is being investigated by the Houston Division of the FBI in cooperation with the Houston Police Department.  It is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Nicholas Murphy and Saeed Mody of the Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ruben Perez and Joe Magliolo of the Southern District of Texas, in cooperation with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.

An indictment is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty through due process of law.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

SHELL OIL TO SPEND OVER $115 MILLION TO REDUCE AIR POLLUTION AT HOUSTON REFINERY, CHEMICAL PLANT

FROM:  U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 
Shell Oil To Spend Over $115 Million to Reduce Harmful Air Pollution at Houston Area Refinery And Chemical Plant

WASHINGTON - The Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that Shell Oil and affiliated partnerships (Shell) have agreed to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Air Act at a large refinery and chemical plant in Deer Park, Texas by spending at least $115 million to control harmful air pollution from industrial flares and other processes, and by paying a $2.6 million civil penalty. Shell has agreed to spend $1 million on a state-of-the-art system to monitor benzene levels at the fenceline of the refinery and chemical plant near a residential neighborhood and school and to make the data available to the public through a website.

Shell will spend $100 million on innovative technology to reduce harmful air pollution from industrial flares, which are devices used to burn waste gases. Shell is required to take the following actions to improve flaring operations: minimize flaring by recovering and recycling waste gases (which may then be reused by Shell as a fuel or product); comply with limitations on how much waste gas can be burned in a flare (flare caps); and install and operate instruments and monitoring systems to ensure that gases that are sent to flares are burned with 98% efficiency. Shell’s agreement to recover and recycle waste gases (flare gas recovery) at its chemical plant is a first of its kind.

Once fully implemented, the pollution controls required by the settlement will reduce harmful air emissions of sulfur dioxide, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including benzene, and other hazardous air pollutants by an estimated 4,550 tons or more per year. These controls will also reduce emissions of greenhouse gases by approximately 260,000 tons per year.

“The innovative emission controls required by today’s settlement will cut harmful air pollution in communities near Houston,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator of EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “This case is part of EPA’s nationwide enforcement effort to protect fenceline neighborhoods by significantly reducing toxic pollution from flares and making information about pollution quickly available to affected communities.”

“This settlement will result in substantial reductions in toxic air pollution through state of the art technology and increased efficiencies at the Deer Park plant,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Robert G. Dreher of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “This agreement will bring Shell Oil’s refinery and chemical plant in Deer Park into compliance with the nation’s Clean Air Act and result in cleaner, healthier air for residents in the local communities for many years to come.”

The settlement was filed at the same time DOJ filed a complaint on behalf of EPA
alleging, among other things, that the company improperly operated its 12 steam-assisted flaring devices in such a way that excess VOCs, including benzene and other hazardous air pollutants, were emitted.

In addition to reducing pollution from flares, Shell will significantly modify its wastewater treatment plant; replace and repair tanks as necessary; inspect tanks biweekly with an infrared camera to better identify potential integrity problems that may lead to leaks; and implement enhanced monitoring and repair practices at the benzene production unit. When fully implemented, these specific projects are estimated to cost between $15 and $60 million.

Also, in a second project to benefit the community, Shell has agreed to spend $200,000 on retrofit technology to reduce diesel emissions from government-owned vehicles which operate in the vicinity of the Deer Park complex.

These actions will cut emissions of pollutants that can cause significant harm to public health. Exposure to high concentrations of sulfur dioxide can affect breathing and aggravate existing respiratory and cardiovascular disease. VOCs are a key component in the formation of smog or ground-level ozone, a pollutant that irritates the lungs, exacerbates diseases such as asthma, and can increase susceptibility to respiratory illnesses, such as pneumonia and bronchitis. Chronic exposure to benzene, which EPA classifies as a carcinogen, can cause numerous health impacts, including leukemia and adverse reproductive effects in women.

Today’s settlement is part of EPA’s national effort to reduce emissions of toxic air pollutants, with a particular focus on industrial flares. These requirements focus on reducing the amount of waste gas sent to flares and on improving flare operations, both of which work to reduce toxic emissions. Improper operation of an industrial flare can send hundreds of tons of hazardous air pollutants into the air. The more waste gas a company sends to a flare, the more pollution occurs. The less efficient a flare is in burning waste gas, the more pollution occurs. EPA wants companies to flare less, and when they do flare, to fully burn the harmful chemicals found in the waste gas.

Shell, which is headquartered in Houston, processes approximately 330,000 barrels per day of crude oil at its Deer Park facility, making it the 11th largest refinery in the United States. In addition, the Deer Park chemical plant produces approximately 8,000 tons per day of products that include ethylene, benzene, toluene, xylene, phenol, and acetone. Both the chemical plant and the refinery operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

The consent decree, lodged in the Southern District Court of Texas, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and court approval.

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