The quaint, quintessential small town of Beaver, Pennsylvania is a hotbed of controversy with the Shell Polymers Monaca (SPM) operation’s recent startup, the first major Northeastern United States polyethylene manufacturing complex.

Positioned along the Ohio River, the close proximity of a cracker plant that breaks down ethane molecules to produce pellets used to manufacture plastic has divided area residents on their stance as to whether the plant will negatively affect the community.

From SPM’s inception, there were those who favored the cracker plant for the jobs, opportunities, and revenue that come with it, while others expressed concerned with the associated health risks, environmental protection, and possible future depreciation of property values.

To inform surrounding communities and out of concern for their image, SPM has an informative Facebook page that addresses various happenings at the plant.

Obviously, SPM workers’ top priority is to be productive while maintaining safety. After all, they are in the midst of any emissions.

One would assume that all SPM employees and administrators have safety at the forefront and are being forthright in their actions and reports; needless to say, concern lies with the number of malfunctions that have occurred to date.

For instance, in August, prior to the startup, SPM notified a third party maritime spill contractor to respond to an outfall. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection was notified that the resulting foam found was caused by two cleaning agents, Simple Green and ZEP, used during the asphalt road cleaning and paving process at the site.

A prepositioned orange boom, meant as an environmental protection, was kept in place after vacuum systems were utilized. SPM claimed to “have not seen a reoccurrence of the foam recently.”

Perhaps worse, the Shell plant had a process compressor shut down September 18 resulting in toxic gases being released.

As a safety precaution, the reddish-orange glow in the night sky that many area residents noticed was caused by the flare system burning the toxic hydrocarbon gases as opposed to releasing it directly into the atmosphere.

Concern and fear set in when the news hit residents. Many locals noticed that the flaring occurred for quite some time with a decent amount of smoke. Residents spoke of an undeniable smell emanating from the cracker plant’s flare system at the time of burn off.

Those who live close to the plant were amazed to see the large flaming bowl during this phase, where a giant smoke plume filled the air. The pollution created was noticeable for miles.

SPM states that “flaming lasted about 15 to 20 minutes, initially with smoke, as actions were taken to minimize and eliminate the smoke as soon as possible.”

Interestingly, accompanying this post Shell placed a defect-free picture as opposed to one illustrating what transpired, mimicking reality.

Many feel that SPM is minimizing and normalizing impact events to lessen concern, protect their image, and appease the community.

Is there a reason as to why SPM is being careful in their wording of occurrences?

One cannot help but note the purposefully chosen words such as “recently” or “initially” presented in their explanations.

Why not be straightforward with people and stop sugarcoating the issues? Purposely vague language merely puts further question in the minds of those who live in the surrounding community.

Shell Chemical Appalachia LLC announced November 15 as the official commencement of operations.

With the cracker plant online, there will undoubtedly be hiccups in the beginning stages, but many anticipated a smoother transition from the outset.

Now, numerous people question every action’s intent: Why did Shell Polymer’s Senior Vice President, Hilary Mercer, post a message to SPM’s Facebook page November 15 elaborating on the commencement of operations at the plant where “safely constructing and commissioning this world-class facility” has been a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity”?

Are these simply words of praise and encouragement, or is emphasis purposely placed on the plant’s elite construction and capabilities due to the issues that occurred in August and September?

Shortly after Mercer’s post, another issue with a steam generator caused flaring to occur November 28 in the site’s ground system.

Again, SPM responded on their Facebook page that the “purpose of the flare is to enable a safe response to equipment malfunctions and the system is working as designed.”

SPM posted January 6 that “to ensure our operations are in a safe and stable position, it has required us to activate our flare system.”

SPM also mentions that flaring is done as “a safety measure implemented to keep our workers, the community and the environment safe.”

What prompted flaring this time? Was it simply due to a planned maintenance shutdown prior to restarting the plant, or was it another safety precaution prompted by a malfunction?

As concern builds, advocacy groups for a cleaner and safer environment, such as Only One, actively campaign online, demanding safe procedures as well as direct and transparent communication and accountability.

Remaining diligent, Only One’s Instagram page launched a campaign with the Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community (@BCMAC) and Eyes on Shell to combat the toxic issues that arise from a plastics plant.

To date, the online petition has collected 423 signatures.

BCMAC emailed Shell August 2022 the Beaver County community’s accountability and transparency to-do list. Shell not only ignored the first email but also has not responded as of January 12 to a posted petition request.

It is BCMAC’s contention that with Shell’s wealth they can afford to “do more than what is legally required to protect residents and the environment in Beaver County.”

Regardless of one’s stance, all should hold SPM accountable for transparency and the necessary immediate response action required so that all—Shell employees and surrounding residents—are kept as safe and healthy as possible.

Become an informed resident, keep abreast of the issues by visiting the aforementioned sites as well as airnow.gov, an interactive map using the Air Quality Index (AQI) to monitor our current air pollutants. Also, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s site (https://www.dep.pa.gov) provides malfunctioning reporting, Notices of Violations (NOVs), and compliance notices regarding the Shell Chemical Appalachia LLC Petrochemicals Complex in Beaver County.

As the county seat, Beaver is a productive small town which values past and present individuals who diligently work to assure the community remains safe and well-maintained.

Clearly, no resident wants to see their town diminished to a place viewed as “toxic alley.”