SpaceX’s Starship launches at the company’s Starbase facility near Boca Chica, Texas, have allegedly been contaminating local bodies of water with mercury for years. The news arrives in an exclusive CNBCreport on August 12, which cites internal documents and communications between local Texas regulators and the Environmental Protection Agency.
SpaceX’s fourth Starship test launch in June was its most successful so far—but the world’s largest and most powerful rocket ever built continues to wreak havoc on nearby Texas communities, wildlife, and ecosystems. But after repeated admonishments, reviews, and ignored requests, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) have had enough.
I would be exactly 0% shocked to learn this was true.
And with Chevron ruling they wont face any repercussions!
Isnt crony capitalism great!?!?!?!
Would you be more shocked to learn that it isn’t true? It is possible that this entire story is based on two typos in the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality report.
Not sure why you’re getting downvoted (although you’re username would certainly give the impression you’re just defending musk).
The information you linked to does indeed cast doubt on the validity of the report. Corrected information will be needed before concrete conclusions can be drawn.
I hate Musk as much as the next person, and definitely wouldn’t be surprised if he was dumping chemicals in the water. But that doesn’t mean we should let confirmation bias cloud our ability to think critically.
I went through the report, and the raw data at the end shows the two samples coming back at “0.139” and “ND”
although you’re username would certainly give the impression you’re just defending musk
I find it interesting that people automatically assume my username implies endorsement of the person.
Your* username
It could be that they mod all the musk communities and are an elon stan but more than likely it’s because they’ve plastered the same comment over 14 times with now llama taking over who is also an active user in the same communities making it seem like brigading. If the case was stated in a single comment it might be upvoted more than others, at this point they’re just spamming anyone who comments regardless of the context.
I’m all for putting your truth out there, but it just seems like they’re trying to drown out everyone with a “nuh uh, believe me” over letting the facts play out. It’s not like this thread is gonna have any real impact on the company or perception at this point no matter what anyone says.
My dear friend, the report is factually false. I can’t speak for others, but I personally find it to only be responsible to help dispel false news. And for what it’s worth, Elon is an asshole in my view, but that is irrelevant in this context, wouldn’t you agree?
As for the facts, you may check them yourself. Here is the actual application. Typo is on page 79, the actual figure is in the appendix on page 177.
Maybe you’re wondering why I am keen on sharing all this. I am a big fan of spaceflight, it’s just something I like and find inspiring. False reports that lean heavily on “Elon Musk bad” make the spacefaring future I’m rooting for more difficult to achieve. Surely it’s ok to correct misinformation?
My dearest lover, I appreciate you reaching out to me in this way. I missed all the other links you’ve put up and so this copy/paste directly made for me has made my heart swell. I regret to inform you that you’re behind in your news updates and the reporting is only getting worse for you at this time. I apologize for the inconvenience and will never give up being your shelter and rock in the stormy sea of life.
Instant upvote. Well played, my friend, well played.
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Yeah i don’t believe this at all
Here is the actual application. Typo is on page 79, the actual figure is in the appendix on page 177.
TCEQ has no power to enforce anything in Texas without the Governor and AG’s cooperation. Mark my words. As long as Texas is run by conservatives, absolutely nothing at all will be done to protect the environment in Texas. Absolutely nothing. Everything related to the environment is performative in Texas, not substantive.
Conservatives delight in pollution. They equate pollution with freedom. Conservatives in Texas intentionally choose vehicles with the worst exhaust, they litter, they dump chemicals directly down drains, into sewers and into waterways, they “roll coal”, they joyfully embrace chemical plants and they mock absolutely anyone who has any problem with dirty air or water. If you can’t handle chemical-laden air, you are considered weak or “librul”. Clean water is for pussies.
There’s a reason the number one cancer research center in the U.S. is based in Houston. The air is famously polluted by nearby refineries that do not report what they release into the air to the public. They are permitted to “self-report” that they are not violating any rules, but there is no actual check performed by TCEQ without a great deal of advance notice and preparation.
Texas is a conservative haven of airborne and waterborne carcinogens. Musk knew that when he moved here. That’s the reason polluters move here. Because conservatives fucking love pollution.
When I hear of a conservative in Texas getting a brutal form of cancer, I just smile and nod because I presume they’ve achieved their goal. It’s the only silver lining in Texas, other than the silver-laden clouds.
Agreed. I’ve read an article hear and there over the past couple years about this and how a reckoning is coming. Space-X leaving California in favor of Texas is too big an advertisement for their brand. They won’t do anything to upset the Musky child.
Clean water is for pussies.
Well when you only consume monster energy drinks and miller lite, why would you need water?
Not ‘conservatives’
Nothing conservative about them
I mean they are referred to as conservatives because of their predominantly archaic social and economical laws not because they conserve the ecology
Their politics are not conservative. They are inflammatory and extremist.
Those concepts are not at all mututally exclusive. In fact, they are typically correlated.
It is not possible for a conservative to enter a conversation or debate in good faith.
And you just know Texas lawmakers were fine with this because the right people got paid off to look the other way by Musk.
The dangers of mercury poisoning are well understood. We’re talking about insanity, paralysis and death. Nobody can pull a, “we had no idea” excuse. Google “Minimata Japan disaster” if you want to know what happens when a corporation poisons people with mercury for nearly 40 years.
This is how they make more Republicans.
This and dropping infants head first onto tiled floors.
i thought that was how they cracked the tiles for aesthetic purposes.
No, that was just how they hit the crack.
oh, that’s what they mean when they say crack.
They are susceptible to various brain damaging chemicals
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What would they even be using mercury for?
Elon’s daily dose. It takes a lot to get on his level.
Just kidding, but it seems like something to do with the fuel/exhaust.
I’ve read multiple articles and the most I’ve gotten is that their first launch didn’t have the cleaner fuel that future launches did. I am not sure how that would cause repeated incidents… perhaps it’s from metal parts in the rockets? 🤔 I could have missed something as I was reading but hopefully someone else will know the answer.
Cleaner fuel? It’s oxygen and methane. Carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, no mercury. Still I can’t think of a source.
The article I read said they didn’t use that until after the first launch. I did not look into it further.
I couldn’t think of a source either. Upon closer inspection, it seems possible that this entire story is based on two typos in the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality report.
If that kind of shit gets released on the ground, what gets released into the upper atmosphere?
CO2 and water. The rocket fuel is not the source of the mercury.
The pumps need to be running full bore before ignition and keep running after cut off. Watch a video of shut off and tell me where they’re keeping all that CO^2 and water on the rocket.
Texas government probably requires you poison people to operate in the State.
Naturally. If people forget to turn off the poison sockets before bed, that’s their own problem!
Slippery consistency helps the highest bidder to slide up Elon’s bumhole more easily and efficiently. What you really want in this situation is a low energy threshold for financial turnover - in this case the point at which dollar bills are more than 50% up musks arse. Mercury gets that done, and Elon likes the taste, but unfortunately on this occasion it got into the water supply which is sad to see.
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This confused me as well. Upon closer inspection, it seems possible that this entire story is based on two typos in the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality report.
Don’t just blame Elon/ SpaSex, blame Texas republicans for allowing this “California Elite” to poison Texas water
SpaceX has replied to the CNBC report
https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1823080774012481862
For those not wanting to click an X link
CNBC’s story on Starship’s launch operations in South Texas is factually inaccurate.
Starship’s water-cooled flame deflector system is critical equipment for SpaceX’s launch operations. It ensures flight safety and protects the launch site and surrounding area.
Also known as the deluge system, it applies clean, potable (drinking) water to the engine exhaust during static fire tests and launches to absorb the heat and vibration from the rocket engines firing. Similar equipment has long been used at launch sites across the United States – such as Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Stations in Florida, and Vandenberg Space Force Base in California – and across the globe.
SpaceX worked with the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality (TCEQ) throughout the build and test of the water deluge system at Starbase to identify a permit approach. TCEQ personnel were onsite at Starbase to observe the initial tests of the system in July 2023, and TCEQ’s website shows that SpaceX is covered by the Texas Multi-Sector General Permit.
When the EPA issued their Administrative Order in March 2024, it was done without an understanding of basic facts of the deluge system’s operation or acknowledgement that we were operating under the Texas Multi-Sector General Permit.
After we explained our operation to the EPA, they revised their position and allowed us to continue operating, but required us to obtain an Individual Permit from TCEQ, which will also allow us to expand deluge operations to the second pad. We’ve been diligently working on the permit with TCEQ, which was submitted on July 1st, 2024. TCEQ is expected to issue the draft Individual Permit and Agreed Compliance Order this week.
Throughout our ongoing coordination with both TCEQ and the EPA, we have explicitly asked if operation of the deluge system needed to stop and we were informed that operations could continue.
TCEQ and the EPA have allowed continued operations because the deluge system has always complied with common conditions set by an Individual Permit, and causes no harm to the environment. Specifically:
- We only use potable (drinking) water in the system’s operation. At no time during the operation of the deluge system is the potable water used in an industrial process, nor is the water exposed to industrial processes before or during operation of the system.
- The launch pad area is power-washed prior to activating the deluge system, with the power-washed water collected and hauled off.
- The vast majority of the water used in each operation is vaporized by the rocket’s engines.
- We send samples of the soil, air, and water around the pad to an independent, accredited laboratory after every use of the deluge system, which have consistently shown negligible traces of any contaminants. Importantly, while CNBC’s story claims there are “very large exceedances of the mercury” as part of the wastewater discharged at the site, all samples to-date have in fact shown either no detectable levels of mercury whatsoever or found in very few cases levels significantly below the limit the EPA maintains for drinking water.
- Retention ponds capture excess water and are specially lined to prevent any mixing with local groundwater. Any water captured in these ponds, including water from rainfall events, is pumped out and hauled off.
- Finally, some water does leave the area of the pad, mostly from water released prior to ignition and after engine shutdown or launch. To give you an idea of how much: a single use of the deluge system results in potable water equivalent to a rainfall of 0.004 inches across the area outside the pad which currently averages around 27 inches of rain per year.
With Starship, we’re revolutionizing humanity’s ability to access space with a fully reusable rocket that plays an integral role in multiple national priorities, including returning humans to the surface of the Moon. SpaceX and its thousands of employees work tirelessly to ensure the United States remains the world’s leader in space, and we remain committed to working with our local and federal partners to be good stewards of the environment.
Any and all claims being made by SpaceX should be verified by an objective third party. We should never simply take a company at their word, but that is especially true of a company that has Elon Musk, a man known to disseminate falsehoods as its Chair, CEO, and CTO.
The cornerstone of all annual business ethics training so many drones (like me) have to endure every year: If you’re known for being dishonest, people will stop believing you. According to the training, they’ll also stop doing business with you, so maybe it’s a bit out of date.
According to the training, they’ll also stop doing business with you, so maybe it’s a bit out of date.
It is baffling. I, for one, would never buy any product or service from a company associated with Musk, but many other people are not so discerning.
Musk != SpaceX
Related, yes, but not equivalent.
while CNBC’s story claims there are “very large exceedances of the mercury” as part of the wastewater discharged at the site, all samples to-date have in fact shown either no detectable levels of mercury whatsoever or found in very few cases levels significantly below the limit the EPA maintains for drinking water.
I think this discrepancy may have been caused by a typo in the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality report.
Texas allows pollutors to self-report in “good faith”. Why would we give any credence at all to a self-report (or hired self-report)?
If the EPA or TCEQ didn’t measure it themselves during an unscheduled visit, then all measurements should be disregarded.
If the TCEQ measured it, the EPA needs to double check their work. The typos in the report are a cause for concern, and the Texas agency needs to be put under scrutiny.
So you still think there’s a mercury problem?
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Interesting, glaring red flag and no one caught it, or cared, until someone made a stink about it. Credit where credit’s due, that’s what journalism does. This tells me there were zero eyes that cared on this entire permit process.
Wow.
I wonder what CNBC is gonna say about that.
That’s pretty embarrassing if that’s what happened partially triggering this article.
Also that poor person who wrote the report up is probably going to get an earful too now.
I wonder what CNBC is gonna say about that.
If they have integrity, they’ll issue a retraction/correction. However, I do not have high hopes.
that poor person who wrote the report up is probably going to get an earful.
LOL, yeah. I bet they never expected their report to get blown out of proportion to this extent.
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we have explicitly asked if operation of the deluge system needed to stop
If that question is being asked then maybe it should be stopped.
What a weird take to make.
They are constantly in talks with these people. They probably ask this exact question every time they’ve used it and sent them more data about it.
Should you stop eating? I think you better since the question is being asked!
My point is that Space X obviously think this is a concern. If they were totally confident their actions are sufficient they wouldn’t keep asking.
One of the many reasons he moved to Texas. This is what you get when your state is so “business friendly”. All the complaining about California and the related regulations, but this is what those regulations are supposed to prevent (yes I know there are still plenty of examples of companies polluting in CA).
The Chevron ruling is absolutely a blatant effort to neuter all of these government oversight departments to allow businesses to accelerate their “line go up” polluting efforts.
The thing is California used to do the same thing. They invited everyone to California with business incentives, but eventually they had to start putting in regulations because they realized things had gotten out of control.
Texas today is what California was in the 60s and 70s.
Maybe people will finally stop praising SpaceX?
SpaceX fans have known about this for a long time now, and they just don’t care. They’ve shouted down anyone who has pointed it out for well over a year now
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Y’all actually need to read the article before commenting:
One of the major initial concerns—the wastewater’s mercury content—stems from what experts believe may be egregious typos within SpaceX’s records. Lab reports indicate polluted waters contained 0.113 μg/L of mercury, while subsequent summaries appear to misplace the decimal point to show 113 μg/L. If the former measurement is accurate, then Starship’s wastewater contains roughly 1/17th the legal mercury limit.
SpaceX has done some shady shit regarding their environmental practices, but this claim about mercury just ain’t it. Some of the comments further down go into more detail.
That says if the former figure is accurate… But if it’s the latter? Then it’s 100 times more than 1/17th which would mean it’s waaay more than the legal limit… So it depends in which is the typo.
I’m going to assume a lab report is more accurate than its summary.
I am going to assume letting companies police their own pollutants is fucking stupid.
Abbott doesn’t care. Paxton doesn’t give a shit as he counts his bribe money.
And strangely enough, republicans want to do away with the EPA. Weird.
So? Having Drinking Water that DOESNT make you sick is NOT Pro Life!
You’re telling me the part that doesn’t care about feeding kids, universal health care, clean water, and clean air but is pro gun, pro war, and pro forced birth isn’t Pro Life? SHOCKED!
Nowhere in the constitution does it say you get clean drinking water, sorry sweaty.
It’s what they voted for.
Why is there mercury in the deluge water? Where is it coming from? It’s not ‘regular water’ somehow?
That confused me as well. It seems possible that this entire story is based on two typos in the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality report.
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The article has no details about the mercury beyond what is in the title. The specific issues it does talk about are things like water runoff, noise that frightens animals, and even “proximity to indigenous sacred lands” which are all, to be frank, trivial. Mercury (in significant amounts) is a problem. But a rocket making noise? Yeah, they do that.
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They also do that in Florida. Where many of the pads are in a conservation area. Launching from those types of areas isn’t new, rocket launches are a well known impact.
Don’t ever see anyone talking about the NASA launch sites when these things are brought up. Always seems to be articles where the SpaceX stuff is in a vacuum and no one else launches or has launch pads to compare against.
Not saying that contamination shouldn’t be researched, just that much of the reporting seems to have a motivation behind it that isn’t what it claims to be.
Because NASA treats its waste water like every other sane responsible rocket company or government agency.
They don’t treat launch water, it runs off into the wetlands through open ditches. The SRBs that the Shuttle and SLS use are 100-ton bricks of perchlorates that contaminate and acidify water for miles every time there’s a launch, so treating the direct runoff is deck chairs on the Titanic. Kennedy Space Center is already a Superfund site, so they focus on things like underwater fencing to stop KSC fish full of teflon and cadmium from being eaten by normal fish.
What about the uproar between native Hawaiians and Nasa over observatories being built on sacred native land? It’s not launch pads but Nasa has definitely pissed ppl off
So your defense is that what they are doing, someone else may have done or done something you consider equally as wrong? I don’t need to make a strawman/example/anything for you, I think you already know it is morally/ethically wrong.
I never said they didn’t piss people off. But we’re talking about concerns at a launch site. An observatory and a launch site have nearly zero in common.
And to think it took this much self-inflicted falling from grace before it became admissible to point that “boy genius”'s enterprises should be prosecuted as much as anybody else for wrongdoing.
