Oil Refinery Explosion, EPA Response
Its a good thing the markets are closed today, otherwise the price of Oil may have jumped to an all time high after massive explosion at a West Texas oil refinery. With limited numbers of refineries in the world, and all working at capacity there is little room to spare for tragedy. As Katrina once highlighted the holes in FEMA response, we may now wonder what infrastructure is available to reroute crude oil production.
The explosion, which sent a special effects worthy plume of toxic smoke skyward, was met by response from the Environmental Protection Agency. Apparently the Dallas area branch sent an agent to the area several hours after the explosion. In a region known for oil production one can only wonder why the closest EPA agent is over 300 miles away, and response time is left to the follies of commericial air travel.