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"Burn-off at a St. Charles refinery sparked health concerns for people who live nearby. The flare in question at the Shell Motiva refinery lasted more than a week. Now the Louisiana Bucket Brigade wants changes to take place at the facility.The flare at the Motiva refinery has stopped, but at least one environmental watchdog wonders about the health impact to local residents.The skyline was dark on Dec. 2 in Norco, La., outside the Shell Motiva refinery after what the company called an \"operational upset\" inside the facility. A power outage occurred a few days later. In each case, the chemicals unit had to restart, causing burn-off, or flare.\"It's really been bad,\u201D said Kathy Terrell, who has lived in the shadow of the plant for 12 years. \u201CIt's been at least a week, if not more.\u201DTerrell, who suffered a stroke six years ago, said she was sick during the flare.\"I've been having breathing problems, and I was vomiting,\" Terrell said.She reported her illness to the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, and it sent out a rapid response team to her home last Friday, Dec. 7. According to the nonprofit, 69 percent of the 103 residents surveyed experienced some kind of health issue during that time.\"Including severe headaches that corresponds with severe benzyne exposure,\u201D said Anna Hrybyk with the Louisiana Bucket Brigade. \u201CThey also experienced respiratory and sinus irritation, and one of the chemicals they reportedly released was hydrogen sulfide, a known respiratory irritant.\"Shell said the flare continued until Dec. 10. Officials with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality said ground-level air-quality tests showed nothing above federal guidelines.Even so, the Bucket Brigade encourages residents to post pictures and comments on its eyewitness pollution map.\"Your report is instantly public for the entire world to see, for press to see, for enforcement officials to see,\u201D Hrybyk said. \u201CIt's even for the plants themselves to see.\"Residents said it's always good to have an extra set of eyes and ears to sense if something is wrong.\"Because I can't smell nothing -- we been here this long,\" Terrell said.The Bucket Brigade does not want to shut down the Motiva refinery, just make sure it reinvests in aging infrastructure.A Shell spokesperson said:\"The health and safety of the community, and ensuring the environment is protected are of the utmost importance to us. We provided community members with updates of what was happening at the site when new information was available.\u00A0 We are members of this community, and we take our responsibility of being good neighbors seriously, and that means keeping them informed about what we do and how we do it.\"If residents experience health impacts around the facility, Motiva directs them to an on-site supervisor who can be reached at 504-465-7342.The Bucket Brigade encourages people to report to the Louisiana State Hazmat hotline, which is a 24-hour hotline: 877-925-6595."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.wdsu.com/article/environmental-group-monitors-health-of-refinery-neighbors/3360169>