Salt Lake City Refinery Tesoro
The Tesoro Company, which was originally established in 1968, owns and runs one of two oil refineries located in Salt Lake City, Utah. They purchased the facility in 2001 from Amoco Corporation. it currently operates at a production level of 58,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
This facility was first established in 1908, and was the first of its kind in the Salt Lake area. It was originally run by the Lubra Oils Manufacturing Co., then sold to Utah Oil Refining Co. in 1909 and Amoco in 1963 before ending up under Tesoro's ownership. The plant currently produces gasoline, jet fuel and diesel fuel products, and maintains an extensive system of pipe lines for the transportation of their materials.
During the early years of the facility, the site featured many products that were made out of a naturally occurring material called asbestos. It was used as a key ingredient in many industrial based products for many years, but later was discovered to be toxic in nature. People who are exposed to the material are likely to develop respiratory diseases, or a cancer called mesothelioma. These afflictions can be life threatening, and it is important for any person who has been around products made from asbestos to receive a complete check up from their doctor.
Tesoro has been dedicated to the safety of their employees and to the protection of the environment. They have taken many steps to ensure the facility runs as cleanly as possible and produces the smallest amount of pollution it can. In 2004, the company installed equipment that reduced their level of toxic emissions by 500 tons annually, and over the following years they worked to find new methods of reducing the level of sulfur in the diesel fuels they produce.
Since taking over the refinery, Tesoro has implemented many policies to increase the level of safety for all employees. They have reduced their injury rate by 45% and received many awards in recognition of their efforts. These include the Award of Merit presented by the Utah Safety Council in 2006, The Award for Safety Achievement: 1,000,000+ Employee Hours, The Meritorious Safety Performance Award and others in acknowledgement of their safety records each year.
Last modified: December 09, 2009.
