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El Dorado Refinery KS

Wainoco Oil was founded in 1949 and built an oil refinery in El Dorado, Kansas. Their subsidiary company, Frontier Oil took over the operation of this plant, and brought its production level up to 110,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

Frontier Oil has been cited by the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for their improper handling and removal of asbestos materials found within the plant. Most every refinery in America has had to deal with the health hazard that came from having products containing asbestos in use at their facilities. For years asbestos was actually a common ingredient in many industrial products, but over time it was recognized as a potentially lethal substance that was responsible for causing damage to victim's respiratory systems and developed into a dangerous form of cancer known as mesothelioma. These refineries have been held responsible for the proper removal of any product containing asbestos.

Only a certified professional should ever be hired to remove or dispose of asbestos. It is comprised of tiny fibers that can easily be torn apart and become airborne. As the fibers float in the atmosphere, they are often inhaled by people who do not know that they have just taken in a toxic substance. Professional crews are trained to deal with these products properly and remove them so that the fibers are completely contained and not a hazard to anyone.

The El Dorado refinery hired contractors for a project in 2008, and up to 100 of them were exposed to asbestos fibers. OSHA is demanding every trace of asbestos be properly removed from the site, and preparing a penalty fine for Frontier OIl of up to $140,000. This issue was considered to be a serious one because Frontier Oil officials were aware of the hazardous situation, and not only did nothing to fix it, but took no steps to notify employees or contract workers about the dangers.

Products containing asbestos were in use at the El Dorado plant for many years, and anyone who has spent time at the site was put at risk for breathing in the toxins. Every employee who spent time at the facility is urged to seek medical attention and request a check up from their doctor to see if they have been affected by unknowingly inhaling asbestos fibers.

Last modified: December 09 2009.