How could the PA Weekly not have included this story among the Bad or the Messy of the year?

" Toxic fumes spew from CPI in Feb 2nd , leaving a worker ‘gasping for air’ (this quote was included) and residents in the Barron Park neighborhood outraged."

• outraged that the CPI did not notify the emergency authorities;

• outraged that the Fire Department investigation is still not released;

• outraged that CPI still hasn’t done anything - and the city hasn’t told them to do anything - to protect residents from the next accident;

• outraged that in 2004 the Planning Director allowed CPI to renovate a facility using large amounts of extremely hazardous materials within 100 ft of houses without ARB review;

• outraged that residents weren't notified;

• outraged that in the past two years CPI has increased the amounts of hazardous materials (including a 50% increase in cyanide chemicals);

And this has left us feeling vulnerable because CPI poses the greatest risk to residents from a hazardous materials accident of any facility in Palo Alto. And because the city doesn't have an evacuation plan or even an effective resident emergency notification process, a serious chemical accident at CPI could become a disaster for our community.

But we Barron Park residents haven’t been idle. We prodded the City staff and the Planning Commission to add a buffer in the zoning code, so extremely hazardous materials would not be allowed within 300 feet of residences. Incredulously, however, the proposal from the Planning Commission would allow CPI to increase the amounts of extremely hazardous materials that are already so close to residences by another 25% ! Did I say we are outraged? For more on this issue, see www.chimalus.org