Lately there have been an alarming number of chemical accidents in the US. They came one by one, starting with Texas, continuing with Louisiana, and now Arizona. What worries me most is the fact that one disaster happening is not a sufficient warning for authorities to increase their safety regulations. I am also furious that because these chemical accidents didn’t happen at the same time, no one is pulling the alarm.

In April this year, a fertilizer plant in Texas exploded, killing 15 people, injuring about 200, and destroying over 150 houses.  The investigations concerning the reason of the explosion are still going on even today; apparently, the significant amount of ammonium that was deposited in the building where the fertilizer was made has reached a level of heat that detonated it.  Other than that, no one has been able to find out anything else about who’s to blame or what went wrong. West, the city where it happened, has filed a suit against the company.

In June, not one, but two explosions happened in Louisiana. The first one resulted in 1 death and 77 injured persons, at a chemical plant in Geismer. Same week, yet another disaster happened in the same state, in Donaldsville, caused by a nitrogen leak at CF Industries. Both places have a history in this type of accidents.

And now, the latest catastrophe comes from Arizona. Another nitrogen leak sent 11 people to the hospital; people were evacuated from their homes and many of them are in need of medication.

Frankly, I’m surprised that all these accidents haven’t determined the authorities to start a country-level investigation process of the safety level in these type of facilities. You might feel lucky if you weren’t in one of these places, but the negative effects of such explosions go beyond immediate physical harm. The quality of air is seriously damaged, and the only way we will know how damaged is when diseases start to hit us.

Sadly, we are experiencing a time of recklessness from the government and we have to take care of ourselves. First of all, you should make your home a secure place. Make reparations, invest in isolation, build a safe room and store it with supplies. When something like this hits again, you can hide there until it’s safe to go outside. The second thing you can do is plant trees that improve the air quality. Thirdly, inform yourself from the local authorities about the dangers that such facilities create, the risks and safety regulations. If they don’t know them, demand that they find out; it is their responsibility.

These are just a few of the things you can do in case such an unpredictable disaster occurs. The key is not to panic, but to maximize your survival skills and resources.