Yorktown Refinery
Western Refining, Inc. owns the oil refinery that is located in Yorktown, Virginia. Western purchased the facility from Giant Industries Inc. in 2006.
During the time when Giant owned the plant, it did face some serious hardships. One of the first was the necessary removal of all products from the work site that contained asbestos. For several years asbestos was a key ingredient in industrial based products, many of which were used throughout almost every oil refinery in America. When these products were being used, it had not yet been discovered that asbestos is a toxic substance that can cause respiratory damage and a form of cancer known as mesothelioma. This cancer has the ability to claim a life, and anyone who has been exposed to asbestos should see their doctor immediately to be examined for these health problems.
When asbestos was shown to be dangerous, every product that was made out of the material had to be removed and disposed of by certified technicians. This can be an expensive procedure, but it is essential for the health and well being of all plant employees.
Asbestos was not the only issue that the Yorktown refinery was faced with. In 2003 the plant was forced to do a major on site clean up of all contaminated soils and water around the facility. They were cited by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for having levels of pollution that were not acceptable. The EPA produced a procedure for the clean up that took up an entire 34 page document. Plant owners complied with the plan and set about to the ongoing clean up project.
In 2006 a fire ignited at the facility that damaged several large processing units. Fire fighters reacted quickly and were able to put out the blaze before it was allowed to spread. No one was injured during the incident, and the plant was able to continue normal operations. This was not the first fire that occurred at the plant. The year before another fire broke out and lasted for nearly 10 hours. It caused enough damage to force the plant to shut down for a few months while repairs were made.
The purchase of the refinery by Western was for a total of $1.5 billion, and they also took over all outstanding debts held by Giant. They continue to operate at full capacity and the site is able to produce more than 58,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
Last modified: December 09, 2009.
