Welcome To Midlothian, Cement Capital Of The World

[pineda]

article by D magazine about TXI activists

Actually, Midlothian is known as the cement capital of Texas, but I'm sure you already knew that, right?

[kjb434]

Cool, I knew texas had some cement producing areas. Cool find.

[pineda]

kjb34-

Something tells me that you never actually read this article, because if you had, you wouldn't be saying "Cool!"

[MidtownCoog]

Yes, they look like a pretty bad corporate citizen.

Even worse than WAL-MART!

[kjb434]

Yes, I read the article. The cool part was about the production. Not many of these places exist because the right type of limestone is needed to produce cement. Majority of the cement used in the US does come from overseas.

I know cement alone is not a friendly product. NEVER EVER BE AROUND CEMENT POWDER WHEN IT IS AIRBORN. Cement powder has a voracious appetite for water. Breathing it in is very detrimental to your healtht It is the portion of concrete that chemically reacts with water to produce the end result of a hard solid substance.

In college I had to sign waivers before taking my concrete design lab for those reasons.

Also, cement powder is horrible on the skin because of its appetite for water.

Cement is produce throught the heating, burning, and crushing of a particular limestone. Chemicals are not involved in creating it. It is fairly simple process.

I'm guessing some releasing of fumes from the burning process would be the cause. Cement producing facilities need special filters to prevent the release of these fumes. It is another reason that cement is produced a lot overseas then shipped because of the environmental and health concerns. The right filters are needed to prevent the release. If the production wouldn't have environmental issues, the raw materials would be shipped over here and the cement produced in the US. The cement producing facilities here in the US are located near sources of the raw material that exist here. The permit process for these facilities are also lengthy.

Sorry to cause alarm. Just had to explain myself.

The part that bothers me and I am sure it botherr you is the part about TXI burns other chemicals from other chemcal plants. The proper process to burning waste chemicals should produce a by product: Typically carbon, cabon dioxide, carbon monoxide, water. The amounts of these products are regulated from state to state with some federal regs.

I hope these people the best. I love our free market economy, but responsible businesses are needed, not destructive ones.

[pineda]

A Mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package. "What food might this contain?" He was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.

Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning. "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"

The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it."

The mouse turned to the pig and told him, "There is a mousetrap in the house."

The pig sympathized but said, "I am so very sorry Mr. Mouse, But there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured that you are in my prayers." >

The mouse turned to the cow. She said, "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you. But it's no skin off my nose."

So the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap alone.

That very night a sound was heard throughout the house like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey.

The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness she did not see that it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught.

The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital, and she returned home with a fever. Now everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient.

But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.

The farmer's wife did not get well. She died. So many people came for her funeral the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.

So the next time you hear that someone is facing a problem and think that it doesn't concern you, remember that when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk.

(this was sent to me today, while I was reading about Midlothian, I felt it captured the mood of the story quite well, hope you enjoy it, too.)