To the editor:

Daily production of naphtha (the main component of lighter fluid) is 287,671 gallons, which will be stored on site. A single spark by accident or terrorist attack could create an explosion that would rattle windows in Jasper and level the town of Dale in mere seconds.”

This is the fear-mongering Herald readers were offered by John Blair on March 26 in regards to the proposed C2D plant in Dale. To anyone who takes that claim with any amount of credibility I ask you to consider this. Compare 287,671 gallons (7,000 barrels) to the 245,000 barrels of gasoline produced at the refinery in Robinson, IL each day. Gasoline is a similar hydrocarbon based fuel which is a class 3 hazardous material (flammable liquid) just like naphtha, but with a higher energy density.

The general public is very familiar with gasoline which is why you won’t convince the people of Robinson that they are one spark away from annihilation, especially since they’ve lived for years next to a refinery that ignites a perpetual flame of waste gas through an exhaust stack.

I live and work in Jasper so I don’t have any special interest in the C2D plant. I hold the belief that entrepreneurs should generally have the right to create new business opportunities and jobs, especially in energy production which is deemed as critical infrastructure by the federal government. That’s my bias for this issue in the news that seems to only provoke negative opinion pieces. If you are not in favor of the C2D plant, fair enough. But please let facts inform your opinion and don’t buy into the nonsense from propagandists who describe Riverview of holding “insidious plans.”

—Matt Mills
Jasper