Is there a petrochemical company in your backyard?

There are at least 2,500 in the greater Houston area. The Houston Chronicle hired Texas A&M scientists to study the likelihood of a calamity, of which there is one every six weeks. The scientists found 55 facilities with the highest potential for harm to the public. Close to 600 scored in the medium tier, storing chemicals dangerous enough to impose serious harm in an accident. Nearly 80 percent of the facilities in those tiers have 10,000 or more people within a 2-mile radius.

It seems that the government agencies which monitor these plants don't do a very good job. But that is the subject of part 2 of the report.