WHY RESIST?

Mariner East is a Sunoco and Energy Transfer Partners project that will transport explosive colorless, odorless, heavier than air natural gas liquids from the frack fields in Ohio and Western Pennsylvania across the state to the port of Marcus Hook near Philadelphia. Here they will be put on ships where they will be transported to Europe. Ineos Corporation will "crack" these hydrocarbons and make more plastic. Over 105,000 Pennsylvanians are at risk, making this for-profit scheme a dangerous proposition.

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"Natural gas liquids behave differently than natural gas, which is essentially just methane. If a pipeline ruptures, methane will dissipate because it’s lighter than air. Natural gas liquids are heavier than air and form vapor clouds when released.

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“The liquid propanes and ethanes, they’ll tend to hug the ground and they don’t have to necessarily be trapped in a building,” Kuprewicz says. “They can detonate on their own.” Source

 

The Mariner pipeline, when completed, will consist of 3 distinct pipelines; the existing Mariner 1 and proposed 2, and 2x. Mariner 1 is an existing 8 inch line that was first installed in the 1930's to carry petroleum from Marcus Hook west to the Pittsburgh area. However, in 2014 it had its flow reversed and was converted to a high pressure NGL line, making Mariner 1 an un-assessed hazard and safety issue for Pennsylvanians for the last 3 years.

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Why resist:

• 105,000 PA lives are in a blast zone, and since there is no color or odor to these gases, residents and first responders cannot depend on their senses.

• There is no pipeline siting agency in PA. Therefore, it is being placed next to 40 schools putting thousands of our most vulnerable populations, our children, at risk.

• Energy Transfer Partners is known for its frequent spills. The Dakota Access pipeline leaked at least five times in 2017. Energy Transfer Crude Oil pipeline, a natural gas pipeline converted to carry crude leaked at least three times in 2017.

• Sunoco has the worst safety record in the industry.

• The "cracking" process that converts the pipelines contents into plastic helps fuel carbon emissions adding to climate change.

• Oil based plastics do not decompose. Instead, they fill our landfills and many times end up in our oceans and hurting our sea life.

• This pipeline is hurting our European neighbors as the communities near the Ineos cracking plants have safety and air quality concerns.