Baton Rouge Refinery
Baton Rouge, Louisiana is the home of the second biggest oil refining plant in the United States. The plant was originally built by Standard Oil, the company that was founded by oil magnate John D. Rockefeller. Standard Oil built the facility in 1909 and continued to operate it until the corporation was hit with anti trust laws in 1911. The result was that Standard Oil was broken up into several smaller companies, including ExxonMobil who operates the refinery today. There are 9 separate plants that make up the Baton Rouge refinery, and together they have a daily output level of 503,000 barrels of crude oil.
ExxonMobil executives have been called upon more than once to clean up hazardous situations. One of the first was found in their own refinery when it was discovered that the products which contained asbestos were very dangerous and needed to be removed. These same products were found in most every refinery prior to the discovery that their key ingredient, asbestos, was highly toxic. People who worked in close proximity to any item that contained asbestos became subject to breathing in microscopic bits of the material without ever knowing it. Those individuals would then be at risk for developing mesothelioma cancer which is often lethal, or other serious respiratory diseases. All former and current plant employees who may have been exposed to asbestos are urged to contact their healthcare providers to notify them of this danger.
Another dangerous scenario in which the people from ExxonMobil were asked to provide assistance in 2005 immediately following Hurricane Katrina. The storm caused massive flooding and claimed the lives of hundreds of people. Some survivors managed to make it to their roofs or even climb up into tall trees where they waited for help. A rescue effort was put in place, and the emergency response crew from the Baton Rouge refinery was called into action. 11 people from the ExxonMobil Emergency Local Interfunctional Response Team (ELIRT) set out on vessels to search for people who were in need of urgent assistance. They were proud to aid in the rescue efforts and were responsible for saving the lives of many residents.
The plant was also hit hard by the hurricane. It was temporarily shut down while efforts to repair and reclaim the facility were underway. As soon as the refinery was functioning properly again, the level of production was increased to help cover for other refineries in the state that were no longer operating at full capacity.
In 2007, ExxonMobil was recognized for their achievements in safety procedures and efficient pollution control systems. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) designated the Baton Rouge refinery as a Star Site, an honor only given to industrial facilities that meet high standards for health and environmental safety policies.
Last modified: December 09, 2009.
