Hero 2020 Carl Weimer: The Right Man at the Right Time in the Right Place

The Healthy Kids Hero Award

Every year, to mark the anniversary of the March 18, 1937 Texas School Explosion, I salute someone who demonstrates an extraordinary sense of responsibility and commitment to the safety of children and their communities. 

The Healthy Kids Hero Award is an annual opportunity to remember the 1937 TX tragedy and to inspire others to take leadership for public safety, especially where gas pipelines, compressor stations, and other hazardous fossil fuel projects contaminate air and drinking water and put schools, families, and whole communities at risk for deadly explosions and fires. (Heroes 2004 - 2019)

Carl Weimer, Executive Director of the Pipeline Safety Trust (PST), is the 2020 Hero.

Over his long career Weimer has earned multiple awards from colleagues, community leaders, government officials, and other admirers including the 2015 White House for being the most effective advocate for improving the safety of nation’s vast network of gas and oil pipelines.

Courage, Credibility, Community

As important as all his accolades are, Weimer deserves the highest recognition and gratitude of the public and local governments for legitimizing the role of communities in the regulatory process. And, in his role as public interest watchdog, he achieves a high level of trust and credibility as he continuously champions a high standard for transparency in the pipeline industry and the regulatory agencies.

One reason for Weimer’s effectiveness is his remarkable ability to humanize the deadly consequences of the pipeline industry’s ugly history, especially its repeated incidents of criminal negligence and poor management. He firmly believes that citizens should be able to trust that their government is pro-actively working to prevent pipeline hazards.

Read the full article...

Set aside a special day each year as a memorial....

...let us suggest the legislature of Texas set aside a special day each year to be observed as a memorial day on which tribute will be paid to the children and teachers who died in this catastrophe...and to make laws of safety... Our daddies and mothers, as well as the teachers, want to know that when we leave our homes in the morning to go to school, that we will come out safe when our lessons are over.

At the 2005 reunion of the New London School Explosion families, Carolyn Jones Frei reads the March 25, 1937 speech she gave as fifth grader Carolyn Jones to the Texas Legislature. She is standing in a corner of the London Museum being recorded by filmmaker Reva Goldberg. At her side is the machine that adds mercaptan, the warning smell to natural gas.

Complete Transcript

Mr. President, members of the house of representatives, and friends of school children, I’m here today as a representative of the London school and as a survivor of the school explosion that took the lives of nearly 500 pupils, teachers, and parents.

Last Thursday afternoon while my colleague and I were studying spelling for the interscholastic meet in which we were going to represent our school the next day, our teacher Mrs. Sory saw some pictures fall from the wall and several vases crash from the desk.

In an instant she had jerked open two nearby windows and said get out of here. We were clinging to her when we heard the first awful rumble that in a few seconds caused the room to collapse.

Mrs. Sory helped us out of the window and in another few seconds we were separated by the dark cloud of dust that blinded us.

When it got so I could see again I ran home as fast as I could. My teacher and friend were not killed, but I did not see them again.

My sister Helen Jones, an honor student and member of the high school champion debate team, was not so fortunate. She and my uncle, Paul Grier, a senior who planned to study medicine, were both taken from us in this awful explosion that killed so many of the future generation of East Texas.

When the announcement was made a few hours earlier by our principle that school would be dismissed for the county meet, the usual joy and excitement of a holiday prevailed. Little did we realize that we soon would be searching in the ruins of our beautiful school building for the bodies of our sisters and brothers and teachers.

First, as a representative of these school friends and teachers of mine, both living and dead, I am here today to express our appreciation for all that you and our governor have done for the relief of the suffering people of this community.

Second, let us suggest the legislature of Texas set aside a special day each year to be observed as a memorial day on which tribute will be paid to the children and teachers who died in this catastrophe.

We want to thank you for the memorial fund to which many of you have already contributed and which people all over the world are sending donations. We believe if those students and teachers who died would speak they would want a living memorial instead of a stately building.

By all means, we should have an appropriate but simple structure on which will appear the names of each pupil, teacher, and parent who died. With the remaining portion of money, our teachers suggest an endowment fund, to be used for the future education for the surviving children so that each might be assured of a college education if they so desired.

In conclusion, let me urge you, our lawmaking body, to make laws of safety, so it will not be possible for another explosion of this type to occur in the history of Texas schools.

Our daddies and mothers, as well as the teachers, want to know that when we leave our homes in the morning to go to school, that we will come out safe when our lessons are over.

Out of this explosion, we have learned of a new hazard that hovers about some of our school buildings. If this hazard can be forever blotted out of existence then we will not have completely lost our loved ones in vain.

We need say nothing more on the point of safety legislation because we as children of London school know that our faith in our government will not be betrayed. We will have safe school buildings in the future.

All of us who were spared will try to show our appreciation by striving to become the finest of citizens to carry on the work of this wonderful land of yours and mine.

This is our plea, thank you.

... As a result of the New London tragedy, the 45th Legislature enacted House Bill 1017 which amended Article 6053, Texas Revised Civil Statutes, 1925, giving the Railroad Commission the authority to adopt rules and regulations pertaining to the odorization of natural gas or liquefied petroleum gases. On July 27, 1937, Gas Utilities Docket 122 was adopted and the Commission began enforcement of odorization requirements for natural gas. 

Schools still are making the same mistakes...

From the Editor, Column, American School Board Journal>>, Glenn Cook, Editor-in-Chief, April, 2008.  

Having grown up on the Texas Gulf Coast, I know a little about disasters, natural and man made. Galveston County, where I was raised, is home to the two worst disasters in Texas history -- the 1900 hurricane and the 1947 explosion that rocked my hometown of Texas City. Yes, it's a somewhat dubious distinction, but a definite conversation starter.  And now, in a photo essay on Page 44, it's time to look back at number three on the list.

The March 18, 1937, explosion of the London School in New London, Texas, is the worst school disaster in U.S. history. More than 300 people were killed in a blast that, by all rights and reason, could have been avoided.  Seventy-one years later, the survivors still bear the emotional and physical scars from that day. And 71 years later, schools still are making the same mistakes in terms of how they keep chemicals safely away from children.

..."Time to Heal>>" is both a slice of history and a cautionary tale for school leaders. Read it and appreciate what the survivors have lived with for more than seven decades, then go and ask questions about your district's chemical safety plans. You'll be glad you did. 

Time to Heal, Glenn Cook, American School Board Journal, April, 2008, vol. 195, # 04, pgs 44 - 47>>

You can prevent explosions in your school.

Help make chemical safety part of your school's ongoing security audits and safety plan.

1) Talk with parents, educators and community leaders about making safety part of school culture.  Does everyone feel safe speaking up?  Don't go it alone. Find allies. If school staff or other parents are fearful or unresponsive, keep reaching out to others. Contact your local or state public health department, your local fire/life safety team, homeland security office or emergency preparedness center.  Your persistence could save lives.

2) Bring the Lessons to Your School Make safety part of the curriculum in science education, vocational education, occupational health and safety, community service, comprehensive school health and injury prevention, school security, emergency preparedness, environmental education, civic education, school maintenance, and operations.

3) Promote a sense of shared responsibility and accountability for student, employee and visitor health and safety in all school areas and activities. Does everyone feel "ownership" for a safe school?  

See Leadership Needed. What opportunities for leadership exist in your school?  Use these resources to update your school's values and technical skills for 21st century citizens. 

• Dangerous Chemicals You Don't Want to See in a School or Child Care Center (ppt)

• Lab Safety Videos  Four short videos provide information on managing hazardous laboratory chemicals, responding to spills, properly storing and labeling chemicals, and disposing of chemicals safely and legally when they’re no longer needed. King County, Washington Local Hazardous Waste Management Program

• Least-toxic chemistry labs This collection of fully-scripted, least-toxic chemistry labs is ready for use by high school chemistry teachers.  The set includes student and teacher guides and meets the Washington State Educational Learning Requirements

• When Good Chemicals Go Bad (Lab Out Loud podcast)

• No More Methyl Something (ppt)

• A Case Study of Environmental, Health and Safety Issues Involving the Burlington, Massachusetts Public School System. Tips, Suggestions, and Resources for Investigating and Resolving EHS Issues in Schools, Dresser, Todd H.,  (Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC; Burlington Board of Health, Burlington, MA, 1998)  http://www.epa.gov/region7/education_resources/teachers/ehsstudy/

Be Proud to be Proactive. Update your chemical inventory.

Commit to building the school and community partnerships that put a high priority on chemical clean outs and other precautionary steps.  

Many states have created resources to help schools do chemical clean-outs and to provide staff training because of accidents such as mercury spills and lab injuries. They can be allies and partners for school safety.  See US EPA Safe Chemical Management in Schools.

Does your school have a chemical inventory?

• Dangerous Chemicals You Don't Want to See in a School or Child Care Center (ppt)
• Hazards in High Schools and Middle Schools 
• School Chemical Cleanout presentation (PDF) Peaks to Praries P2 Webinar January 13, 2010

Hazardous chemicals are used in every school in both maintenance and the curriculum.  A chemical inventory lists the hazardous chemicals in science classes, labs, storerooms, art classes (such as photography, jewelry, painting and ceramics), in vocational shops (such as auto body, auto repair and printing), and in facility operations such as cleaning, painting, turf maintenance and pest control.

Why do a chemical inventory in your school?

• It avoids waste, reduces hazards and saves money on inventory duplication.
• It saves time searching for non-inventoried chemicals.
• You avoid accumulating products that cost time and money for expensive hazardous waste disposal.
• It makes sure that hazards are accounted for.  
• The wise use of chemicals (purchasing, storage, labeling, and disposal) reduces injuries and prevents costly property damage.
• It sets a high standard everyone can trust for health security and safety. 
• It prevents explosions, chemical spills, fires, and poisoning.

Survivor Story: Jimmie Robinson

Jimmie Robinson, a third grader in 1937, had walked over to the school “to see the Mexican hat dancers” at a PTA-sponsored event. She was buried in the rubble, with a half-dollar sized hole in her forehead. Her sister Elsie, three years older and injured herself, refused to leave until Jimmie was out.

“I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for her,” says Robinson, whose father worked in the oil field. “They took me to the hospital, cleaned the dirt out of the hole in my forehead, and said if I lived 24 hours I might make it.”

In her own words...

As you may know, there was a PTA meeting being held in the school auditorium that afternoon and since the elementary school students had gotten out early, I walked over to the school where my sister's classroom was located in the basement of the school. The bell had just rung to let the children out --  everyone was gathering in their books and then the school exploded.

All children in the next room to us were killed since the wall fell in on them. My sister never lost consciousness but I was completely covered by debris except for my hands. She proceeded to dig me out and stayed with me until someone picked me up and put me into a truck going to the Overton Hospital at which time we were separated.

When she later came to the hospital, she searched for me and found me laying on a sheet in the corner of a hospital room unconscious and with head injuries.

At that time, the hospital staff was taking pulses and removing bodies and she feared they would take me away. She had a nurse that knew our family to put a tag on me so I would not be taken and because she was ambulatory, she wandered all around with her right eyelid cut in two - but because she was not as badly hurt, the staff tried to take care of the more seriously wounded.

My mother made it to the hospital and was just overcome by the carnage that she observed. My father, who worked in the oilfields, found her on the hospital steps and together they located me and the staff loaded me into an ambulance and sped me to Tyler where a neurosurgeon was on the way in to help with the injured. I was taken to Bryant's Clinic in Tyler, where I became the first patient of Dr. DiErrico (from Dallas) who removed the bone from my upper forehead and said "if she lives 24 hours, she will make it".

In the rush to get me treatment, my sister Elsie was left in Overton. By the time they got her to Tyler, they had to put her in the Mother Frances Hospital. She did not believe that I had survived. After her eye was sewn up and I had regained conscious, they brought her to visit me and we both were reassured that we had indeed survived. I had no recollection of anything until I woke up in the hospital.

My family moved in 1938 first to Hobbs, N.M. and then to the Houston Heights, where the family lived for many years. My sister Elsie died in 1998 of leukemia.

We had three cousins who attended New London at the same time. Their names were Mildred, Sybil and Billie Jordan. My parents were Wilson and Corine Jordan. Because my grandfather's name was James and my parents had only daughters, I was named Jimmie (after my grandfather).  Elsie and I never went to the reunions of the survivors but did make a trip in about 1990 to the site of the memorial in New London.

--

In 2005, Jimmie Robinson attended the reunion of survivors and families. She donated the dress she was wearing at the time of the explosion to the London Museum exhibits.

safety measures can’t be overlooked

“The tragedy emphasized that safety measures can’t be overlooked in the handling of petroleum and its products,” Chapman said. “It was after this tragedy that a scent was added to the odorless natural gas.”

Read more at Suite101: Marilyn Jones, Kilgore, Texas: From the Great Depression to Oil Boomtown http://texas-travel.suite101.com/article.cfm/kilgore-texas#ixzz0hDjAbypc

The need is severe and immediate...

Bad air inside and outside schools escalate health care costs, increase absenteeism, and reduce test scores.  The new report from the National Healthy Schools Network, “Sick Schools 2009 ‐ America’s Continuing Environmental Health Crisis for Children” provides state by state assessments of the problems and opportunities for advocates.  Read more >>

Doreen Croser, Executive Director of American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, a leader in advocating quality of life and rights for people with disabilities, said, “Students with intellectual and developmental disabilities need protection in America’s schools. Special education students are often more vulnerable to lead, pesticides, hazardous cleaning supplies and contaminated indoor air found in too many schools. An unhealthy school environment makes learning more challenging and staying healthy harder.”

Vernice Miller‐Travis, Vice‐Chair, Maryland State Commission on Environmental Justice and Sustainable Communities said, “The fact that the poorest, highest risk children have the schools in the worst condition has been a civil rights issue going back to Brown v. Education of Topeka in 1954. Today, we know even more: that the impacts from toxic school siting to lead in drinking water to mold infestations and to chemical spills are damaging millions of children every year, taking away their health and their chance for a productive future.”

Georges Benjamin, MD, FACP said "Unhealthy conditions in our schools lead to failing grades and failing health." Benjamin is executive director of the American Public Health Association. He added, "Environmental concerns such as asbestos, mold, poor air quality and other hazards affect children's ability to learn and their health, and schools in low‐income communities are often disproportionately affected. We must close this gap and ensure that all of our kids are given an opportunity to learn, grow and play in safe, healthy schools."

Bill Orr, Executive Director, Collaborative for High Performance Schools said, "The time has come to stop mortgaging our children's health in the name of the status quo. A truly high performance school does not just protect the environment, but makes the health and well‐being of schoolchildren and staff the top priority. EPA has shown the scientific evidence and importance of investing in healthy schools, and now Congress must take heed of its counsel."

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