Massive inferno billowing toxic smoke from recycling plant

You can't keep track with the pace that all this is exploding at. Dead farm animals, explosions, fires, derailments.
Insane.

A massive fire emitting toxic smoke from an eastern Indiana recycling plant described by the city’s mayor as a known “fire hazard” has forced evacuation orders for about 2,000 people as the battle to put it out is expected to drag on for days, city and state officials said.

Plastics were among the items that started burning Tuesday at the Richmond plant, and the smoke – a thick, black column that rose from the site – is “definitely toxic,” Indiana State Fire Marshal Steve Jones said in a news briefing.

Question is, is it accelerating or is the news merely being told to report on it more than 5 years ago?

www.cnn.com...

Lot's of "Green" Tech going down the drain lately 😆

News flash, all smoke is toxic. Even regular wood offgasses hydrogen cyanide.

Don't be so worried about phrasing.

originally posted by: Iconic
News flash, all smoke is toxic. Even regular wood offgasses hydrogen cyanide.

Don't be so worried about phrasing.

There are different levels of toxicity depending on whats burning. Plastic, which is burning at the plant is likely more toxic than a wood fire. True or False

a reply to: xuenchen

Mods,
My bad, close mine ;
RE
www.abovetopsecret.com...

originally posted by: putnam6

originally posted by: Iconic
News flash, all smoke is toxic. Even regular wood offgasses hydrogen cyanide.

Don't be so worried about phrasing.

There are different levels of toxicity depending on whats burning. Plastic, which is burning at the plant is likely more toxic than a wood fire. True or False

False.
You breathe a lot of wood smoke, you die.
You breathe a lot of plastic smoke, you die.
The level of death is the same.
"He's dead, Jim."
"Would that be dead from wood smoke or dead from plastic smoke?"
He'd dead either way, Jim."

originally posted by: schuyler

originally posted by: putnam6

originally posted by: Iconic
News flash, all smoke is toxic. Even regular wood offgasses hydrogen cyanide.

Don't be so worried about phrasing.

There are different levels of toxicity depending on whats burning. Plastic, which is burning at the plant is likely more toxic than a wood fire. True or False

False.
You breathe a lot of wood smoke, you die.
You breathe a lot of plastic smoke, you die.
The level of death is the same.
"He's dead, Jim."
"Would that be dead from wood smoke or dead from plastic smoke?"
He'd dead either way, Jim."

Jim is wondering which one would you prefer to be exposed to over a long period of time?

originally posted by: schuyler

originally posted by: putnam6

originally posted by: Iconic
News flash, all smoke is toxic. Even regular wood offgasses hydrogen cyanide.

Don't be so worried about phrasing.

There are different levels of toxicity depending on whats burning. Plastic, which is burning at the plant is likely more toxic than a wood fire. True or False

False.
You breathe a lot of wood smoke, you die.
You breathe a lot of plastic smoke, you die.
The level of death is the same.
"He's dead, Jim."
"Would that be dead from wood smoke or dead from plastic smoke?"
He'd dead either way, Jim."

First , one would have to review the levels of toxicity and concentration before one would be able to answer that .
A little dab of plastic will do ya .
Please think before you post .

originally posted by: schuyler

originally posted by: putnam6

originally posted by: Iconic
News flash, all smoke is toxic. Even regular wood offgasses hydrogen cyanide.

Don't be so worried about phrasing.

There are different levels of toxicity depending on whats burning. Plastic, which is burning at the plant is likely more toxic than a wood fire. True or False

False.
You breathe a lot of wood smoke, you die.
You breathe a lot of plastic smoke, you die.
The level of death is the same.
"He's dead, Jim."
"Would that be dead from wood smoke or dead from plastic smoke?"
He'd dead either way, Jim."

Respectfully I have a different opinion, My BIL is an EMT and one of my nephews is a fireman.

www.firehouse.com...

The greatest concern for emergency responders, and particularly firefighters, is the burning of plastics. All plastics that contain carbon will burn. As with any materials that will burn, some are more combustible than others.

Chemicals can be combined with plastics during manufacture to reduce combustibility. Other plastic materials are formulated to be self-extinguishing. Plastics that contain carbon and hydrogen - such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polybutylene and polystyrene - burn very well. Burning polyethylene melts, smells like wax and produces dripping of the melted flaming material that could spread the fire. Polystyrene burns much slower, producing large soot particles, and smells like vinegar. Styrene is an aromatic hydrocarbon and they, as a family, burn sooty with incomplete combustion.

Plastics that are composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen burn slower than the others mentioned. Thermosetting plastics can produce burning smells like charred wood or formaldehyde. Those plastics that contain nitrogen and sulfur will produce very toxic gases when they burn. Plastics containing nitrogen burn with no smell, and those with sulfur produce a choking sulfur dioxide smell.

Manufacturing Plastics

The process of making plastics involves many different compounds and hazardous materials that are commonly shipped in transportation and stored in manufacturing facilities. One of the most common compounds used in the making of plastics is the monomer. Monomers can be found as solids, liquids or gases. Ethylene, which is used to make polyethylene plastic, is a colorless gas with a sweet odor and taste. It is also a highly flammable gas with a wide flammable range of 3%-36% in air. It is not considered toxic, but can displace oxygen in the air and create an asphyxiation hazard to response personnel.(Ethylene is also the gas that is produced naturally by ripening fruit and is used in orchards to hasten fruit ripening.)


Styrene is another monomer from the aromatic hydrocarbon family, along with benzene, toluene and xylene. Also called vinylbenzene, it is a colorless, oily, aromatic liquid. Styrene is a moderate fire risk with a narrow flammable range of 1.1% to 6.1% in air. It is toxic by ingestion and inhalation and has a threshold limit value (TLV) of 50 parts per million (ppm) in air. Styrene monomer is used to make polystyrene, which is the rigid plastic from which soft-drink-cup covers are made. Polyacrylamide, a solid mono-mer white in color, is used to make the clear plastic from which compact discs are made.

Butadiene is another common, but dangerous monomer. It is a gas that is highly flammable and has a flammable range of 2%-11% in air. Butadiene is also a suspected carcinogen and has a TLV of 10 ppm in air. It is used in making elastomers and neoprene.

Monomers cannot be shipped or stored unless they have been stabilized through the use of an inhibitor. The inhibitor prevents the uncontrolled polymerization of the monomer during transportation and storage. It does not interact chemically with the monomer, it just acts as a stabilizer. U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations prohibit the transportation of most monomers without the material being inhibited.

a reply to: putnam6

I am a first responder, and HAZMAT operator certified.

Yes, obviously somethings are more toxic than others. Burning petrochemicals is more toxic than wood, but the offgassing from both is still toxic. The quote from the fire Marshall where he says it's "definitely toxic" is a scare tactic by the media. It seems to have worked.

a reply to: chris_stibrany

Is this the explosion that killed 80,000 dairy cows?

originally posted by: Gothmog

originally posted by: schuyler

originally posted by: putnam6

originally posted by: Iconic
News flash, all smoke is toxic. Even regular wood offgasses hydrogen cyanide.

Don't be so worried about phrasing.

There are different levels of toxicity depending on whats burning. Plastic, which is burning at the plant is likely more toxic than a wood fire. True or False

False.
You breathe a lot of wood smoke, you die.
You breathe a lot of plastic smoke, you die.
The level of death is the same.
"He's dead, Jim."
"Would that be dead from wood smoke or dead from plastic smoke?"
He'd dead either way, Jim."

First , one would have to review the levels of toxicity and concentration before one would be able to answer that .
A little dab of plastic will do ya .
Please think before you post .

Congratulations. You are raising pedantry to an art form. If you had to warn people about the dangers of inhaling smoke, what would your sign day? "Smoke originating from plastic is very deadly. Smoke from wood can also be deadly. If you have the choice, don't breathe plastic smoke and breathe wood-derived smoke only in small amounts"

My sign would say: "Don't breathe smoke"

Which sign would save more lives? To go on and on in excruciating detail about the dangers of smoke is NOT THE FRIGGIN POINT! All smoke is toxic. To say, "This smoke s toxic" is like saying "This fire is hot."

Please think before you post.

a reply to: chris_stibrany

IF CO2 IS SUCH A HARMFUL GAS.....

then why do we produce it purposely, on an industrial scale?

beer, soda, champagne, dry ice, paintball bottles...

BUT YOU N ME GOTTA HOLD OUR FARTS IN AND OUR BREATH
and not eat meat so our carbon footprint bull#?

because it makes them billions, thats why

a reply to: carewemust

No, it's separate. A bunch of burning plastic etc at a recycling plant.

originally posted by: carewemust
a reply to: chris_stibrany

Is this the explosion that killed 80,000 dairy cows?

No but some of the recycled plastics may have contributed ⚖️