A caution to
Linn County ResidentsThe proposed Navigator liquid CO2 pipeline is not just a problem for rural Linn County property owners. The lethality of a CO2 pipeline goes far beyond its physical location. CO2 being heavier than air, expands laterally when released from under pressure. It forms a low-lying cloud, which can kill in minutes. Carbon dioxide is odorless and colorless and will not readily dissipate into the atmosphere. Look to the incident in Sartartia, Miss., in February 2020, when residents there were subjected to a mass poisoning. Residents could not escape the toxic cloud. Due to the lack of oxygen in the air, their vehicles would not run. Further back in 1986, a naturally occurring CO2 released from a lake in Africa killed 1700 villagers and 3500 head of livestock. Imagine a pipeline rupture under 2200 PSI with thousands of pounds of liquid CO2 being released.
Think it can’t happen? I live with an oil pipeline placed in the 1950s one hundred yards from my home. Twenty years after construction, it burst while under pressure testing one mile west of Mount Vernon. Had it carried liquid CO2, it could have reached the edge of my community and its school buildings. Cedar Rapids is an even larger target, as the pipeline’s path touches its southern boundary on its way to connect with ADM.
Stop this project! File your objections with the Iowa Utilities Board.
Ken Neal
Mount Vernon