>Deer Park Refinery
Shell Oil Company operates the refinery in Deer Park, Texas, in cooperation with Shell's Deer Park Refining Company. The facility has a daily output capability of more than 330,000 barrels of crude oil. The plant was built in 1929, and has grown tremendously over the years.
This plant has seen its share of problems. Among the first was the presence of asbestos within the facility. Before asbestos was found to be a toxic material, it was regularly used in a variety of industrial products and construction related items. They were especially prevalent in oil refineries, which needed materials that could endure the high temperatures that occur during the oil processing procedure. Over time these products would crack open and break apart, which allowed small bits of asbestos to escape and permeate the environment. Humans could then breathe in the asbestos, and when this happens they will often develop respiratory diseases as well as an extremely dangerous type of cancer called Mesothelioma. After the discovery about the dangers of asbestos, the Deer Park plant was forced to remove all products that were made with this material. Any plant employee who worked near these items is urged to visit their doctor to be checked out for possible complications from asbestos.
A large fire erupted within the refinery in 2002. The flames leaped high into the air, and produced dark clouds of black smoke that could be seen from miles away. Enough smoke was present during the fire that local residents were urged to remain indoors with all windows and doors tightly shut. They were also encouraged to turn of air conditioning units so that polluted air would not be pulled inside. The fire raged as local crews arrived and began efforts to get the blaze under control.
No one was injured during the fire, and the basic operation of the facility was not largely affected.The fire itself was the result of a hydrocarbon leak within a processing unit.
The Sierra Club, in cooperation with a group called Environment Texas, went after the Deer Park refinery in 2008. They claim that Shell is guilty of excessive levels of pollution, as well as not properly maintaining their safety and emissions monitoring equipment. According to the charges that were made, the plant has allowed emissions of dangerous carcinogens that are extremely hazardous. The groups seek to charge the plant $32,500 per day for every incident in which unacceptable levels of toxins were produced by the plant. This would involve more than 1,000 violations during the years of 2003 to 2007.
Last modified: December 09, 2009.
