Bayway Refinery

The inception of the Bayway Refinery goes back to 1907 when oil magnate John D. Rockefeller purchased several hundred acres of land in the area between Elizabeth and Linden, NJ. By 1909 oil was already being mined from the property, and the facility continued to thrive over the years under the ownership of several major corporations. In 2001, the refinery was purchased by Phillips Petroleum, and that company merged with Conoco the following year to form ConocoPhillips, who still owns the plant today.

Bayway has proven to be a continued success and produces up to 269,000 of crude oil on a daily basis. They transport the oil using tanker trucks, railways, barges and an extensive pipeline network. Although the plant has thrived, it has received a great deal of scrutiny for its environmental practices.

In 2003, Bayway was investigated by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection because the employees of the facility were found to have a very high rate of cancer. The investigation led to a determination that the plant must take several essential measures to become compliant with safety measures, health regulations and environmental concerns. Those measures included pollution control devices being installed on all their major equipment, a new fuel system to ensure cleaner burning gas and further reduce emissions, an enhanced process for detecting and repairing leaks and several other important steps to lower the emission level of dangerous toxins into the air.

All of the mandatory changes came at a cost of more than sixty million dollars, and they began to be implemented as of 2005. ConocoPhillips was given up to five years to make the more drastic changes to the facility. When the process is finished, the Bayway Refinery will produce far less pollution and will run as a much cleaner facility.

That run in was not the only issue that has affected this New Jersey plant. It was also afflicted by the presence of asbestos, a material that was commonly used in a variety of products in many oil refineries. Manufacturers of these products used asbestos prominently, before it was determined to be a toxic material that is hazardous to the health of anyone who is around it. Asbestos is made up of tiny fibers, and they can easily break off and float in the air. This allows them to be inhaled, and once that happens it can lead to serious respiratory problems, and a potentially fatal form of cancer known as mesothelioma.

Former employees of the Bayway Refinery should talk to their doctors and let them know they worked in an area that is known to have asbestos on site. It can take years for a disease to fully develop following exposure to this toxin, so even individuals who have not worked at the refinery for many years should get checked out.

Last modified: December 09 2009.