Shopping near deadly fumes?

Friday, June 2, 2006 | 7:17 a.m.

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Sirens blare and warning lights flash, seconds after sensors detect the presence of dangerous chemicals in the air.

An automated warning system locks doors and shuts down the ventilation systems to protect people from potentially deadly fumes. Those locked outside the buildings could not enter .

It's not a summer movie thriller, but a possible scenario that Henderson's emergency management coordinator paints if the city approves a regional shopping center next to industrial plants that store and use hazardous chemicals - and that have been the scene of minor explosions, chemical leaks and fires over the years.

The Henderson City Council may vote as early as next week on whether to allow J&F Land Co., a subsidiary of Juliet Properties, to build 725,000 square feet of retail stores, restaurants and office space on 73 acres at the northwest corner of West Lake Mead Parkway and Water Street. The site had been part of unincorporated Clark County until its owner, Titanium Metals Corp., annexed it into Henderson last year.

Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Cyphers strongly opposes the shopping center project.

In a letter to the Community Development Department, Cyphers said the city should follow the historic practice of the Clark County Commission, which considered the site a buffer to the chemical plants and limited its uses to light manufacturing and industrial purposes, which would bring in far fewer people than a shopping center.

"The closer we put people to the potential source of a chemical release, the greater the concentration of that chemical," Cyphers wrote. "Higher concentrations mean reduced survivability and the loss of a chance to take appropriate actions for protection."

But if the plan is approved, Cyphers said, the city should require the developer to install "life-safety" systems that would protect shoppers in the event of a chemical leak at the Basic Management Inc. industrial site.

Cyphers proposed the installation of sensors on the edge of the 73-acre site that could detect dangerous chemicals, as well as signs in the parking lot and storefronts telling people what to do in case of an emergency.

Any presence of dangerous chemicals would set off sirens and flashing lights, activating an automated system that would close and lock outside doors until the chemical cloud passes.

Cyphers concedes that such a warning system could trigger confusion and panic, but called it the only way to protect people until hazardous materials experts and firefighters arrived. Such systems are used in chemical plants, but Cyphers said he had not heard of one being in place at a shopping center.

"I am not comfortable with it, but if this goes through, it is appropriate to put in protection systems ... for the public," Cyphers said. "It would not be a pretty scenario because even if you ring the area with chemical detectors, there is always going to be a problem with false alarms."

The City Council's decision may hinge on the findings of a consultant hired by Henderson to assess the potential danger of placing a shopping center on the edge of the industrial site. If the consultant report is not ready before Tuesday's meeting, the discussion will be postponed for at least two weeks, said City Attorney Shauna Hughes.

Juliet Properties Vice President John Stewart said he had not read Cyphers' recommendations but said it was too early to suggest what should be done until the consultant completes the risk assessment. That study should drive the process, he said, adding that he would take his direction from the City Council on possible safety measures.

If the site is built as a shopping center, Henderson could earn about $50 million in property taxes over the next 19 years. That exceeds by about $10 million what the city could earn if the site was developed for industrial uses.

In April, the Henderson Planning Commission unanimously recommended that the City Council approve the shopping center project. There was no testimony about the potential dangers at that meeting.

Some of the plants produce chlorine and titanium tetrachloride, which when inhaled in large concentrations can damage lungs and can even be fatal.

In 1991, a large area of Henderson was evacuated when a broken pipe at Pioneer Chlor Aikali released 40 to 70 tons of chlorine, forming a toxic cloud that sickened about 300 people.

Councilman Steve Kirk said the consultant's risk analysis should guide the city's decision on whether to approve the shopping center. Noting that three generations of his family, including himself, have worked at the BMI complex, he pointed out that there had not been a major accident in years.

And if the site is so dangerous, he asked, why does the city allow people to live near the BMI site?

"I know there are a lot of concerns, but if that report comes back and says that it is a safe location, I don't see why it wouldn't go forward," Kirk said.

Plant managers said a good safety track record over the last 15 years demonstrates that the site would be appropriate for a shopping center. Part of the site has been used as Timet Field, where the city has held car shows and other events.

Cyphers warned city officials, however, to take the difference between industrial plant workers and shoppers into account. While employees at the chemical plants are trained to deal with emergencies and carry air-purifying respirators at all times, shoppers would be ill-equipped for an emergency , he said.

"I have worked with the BMI chemical facilities for over 15 years, and am pleased that in the past decade, they have had no significant problems," he said. "Unfortunately, their safety record and lack of chemical releases has resulted in a false sense of security in regards to the risk their facilities pose."

Richard Brenner, Clark County's hazardous materials coordinator, also has come out against the project, saying it would be dangerous to permit so many shoppers near the plants. Brenner also said the kind of automated system suggested by Cyphers would be unworkable.

It is against fire codes to lock people in a building, even to protect them from contaminated air, he said. The buildings would need ventilation systems to scrub air, but that would be too costly for any retail development, Brenner said.

"People are going to panic," Brenner said. "If you lock them into a building, all they are going to do is break the glass. It doesn't make any sense. It wouldn't be a pretty sight."

Las Vegas real estate consultant John Restrepo said if the shopping center is approved, retailers would conduct their own study about the potential safety risk .

Any city requirements that the facility have chemical detectors, sirens and warning signs would not deter retailers, because most shoppers are not likely to pay attention to them or be overly concerned, he said.

"Risk is in the eye of the beholder, and their own attorneys and scientists will determine that," Restrepo said. "People will make their own judgments about the risks and determine whether they want to shop there or not."

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