User:Bashthefash26/sandbox

PLANS TO EDIT~

Hey everyone, I think that if we focus on environmental violations and community impact, then we got a paper. What do you all think?

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Contributions:

Adding to Port Arthur wikipedia page, focus on health effects

Subtopics: health effects of pollution, community organizing, industry, lawsuits,

Sources: port arthur reading, Port Arthur, Texas,

General: https://www.thenation.com/article/welcome-west-port-arthur-texas-ground-zero-fight-climate-justice/, http://archive.onearth.org/articles/2013/08/if-built-the-keystone-xl-pipeline-will-end-in-one-toxic-town,

Recent events: http://www.maritimeherald.com/2017/fire-accident-during-offloading-wooden-pellets-on-bulk-carrier-jobst-oldendorff-in-texas/,

Health studies: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0013935173900376, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1929529/, https://statecancerprofiles.cancer.gov/map/map.withimage.php?48&001&001&00&0&01&0&1&5&0#results, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16121907 or http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3200/AEOH.59.3.160-165,

Lawsuits: http://earthjustice.org/news/press/2012/community-groups-in-texas-california-and-louisiana-sue-the-epa-to-clean-up-toxic-air-from-refineries, https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/documents/motiva-equilon-deerpark-cp.pdf,

The Port Arthur Refinery is an oil refinery located in Port Arthur, Texas. It is the largest oil refinery in the United States.

The first processing units of the Port Arthur Refinery were constructed in 1902 by the Texas Company, later Texaco. The roots of this refinery can be traced to the Spindletop oil boom near Beaumont, Texas. It came into operation in 1903. Port Arthur is in eastern Texas on the Gulf of Mexico. At certain points during its lifespan it was considered the flagship refinery of Texaco.

On January 1, 1989, Saudi Refining, Inc. purchased 50% of the Port Arthur refinery (and two others) from Texaco to form a joint venture with Texaco called Star Enterprise. In 2001, Texaco was purchased by Chevron. Shortly thereafter Chevron's interest in this refinery (and two others) was sold to Shell on February 13, 2002. This new joint venture was called Motiva Enterprises LLC. Today, the Motiva Port Arthur Refinery is a joint venture with a 50% ownership between Shell Oil Products US and Saudi Refining Inc. Shell Oil Products is part of Royal Dutch Shell. Saudi Refining is part of Saudi Aramco. Approximately 1,200 people are employed at the site.

In March 2016, the joint venture between Shell and Saudi Aramco was set on course to dissolve, and this refinery will be controlled by Saudi Aramco effective May 1, 2017.

The completion of the expansion of the Port Arthur Refinery, officially celebrated on 31 May 2012, increased its crude oil capacity to 600,000 barrels per day – making it the largest refinery in the US. The expansion added 325,000 barrels per day of capacity. As of May 2016 the refinery has reached a maximum capacity of 636,500 barrels per day. Several of the process units added during the expansion are going through debottlenecking to increase their capacity even further.

This large and sophisticated refinery has the ability to process a flexible crude diet. It can process heavy, sour, and acid crudes from wherever they become available – initially Saudi Arabia – but also other areas. The refinery can also process shale oil, which is relatively light and sweet crude, if it’s economically attractive. The refinery supplies gasoline, diesel, aviation fuels, and high quality base oils to customers in the US.

2016 Saudi Arabia Acquisition
Four years after Port Arthur underwent its $10 billion expansion, making the facility the biggest producer of gasoline, diesel and other petroleum products in the United States, Saudi Arabia-based Saudi Aramco is poised to become the sole owner of the facility. As per an agreement with Shall, Saudi Aramco retain Motiva's name and Port Arthur refinery. In Texas, Aramco will have the exclusive rights to use Shell brand for gasoline and diesel sales. As part of the deal, Aramco will make a $2.2 billion balancing payment to Shell.

2015 United Steelworkers Strike
On February 1st, 2015 United Steelworks union members went on strike after the union rejected oil producer's (like Shell and ExxonMobil) fifth offer. This event was the first large-scale walkout in the industry in 35 years. Union representatives called on oil companies to improve safety in (an) enforceable way. As a result, for the duration of the strike, Port Arthur Refinery was forced to implement the facility's strike contingency plan, calling for nonunion operators to operate the facility while negotiations continued.

Effects on public health
A study in the Journal of Occupational Medicine found that workers at Port Arthur refineries were more likely to die from diseases like brain cancer, stomach cancer, leukemia, and other forms of cancer. Furthermore, nonwhite workers were more likely to die at younger ages than white workers. Nonwhite workers also experienced higher proportionate mortality ratios than their white counterparts with regards to deaths from all cancers, and deaths from accidents, suicide, or homocide. White workers had a higher proportionate mortality ratio for prostate cancer than nonwhite workers. However, a different study from the same journal followed a cohort of workers at the Port Arthur refinery and found conflicting evidence that said overall, the workers did not suffer from excess mortality rates compared to other Texas residents.

A study found approximately 36% higher levels of lead in Port Arthur residents compared to Hanover, New Hampshire residents.

A study by the University of  Texas Medical Branch at Galveston indicates that Port Arthur residents located around the refinery are four times more likely than Galveston residents to have heart and respiratory conditions, nervous system and skin disorders, headaches and muscle aches, and ear, nose, and throat ailments.

Black residents near the refinery suffer the most. According to the Texas Cancer Registry, black Jefferson county residents have cancer rates 15% higher than that of their white counterparts, largely due to black communities living closer to Jefferson county's refineries such as Port Arthur.

Environmental record
Over a 44 month period starting after January 2003, the refinery had 127 incidences in which it released more emissions exceeding the regular expected amounts. The composition of the emissions were approximately 84% criteria air pollutants or volatile organic compounds by mass. In 2015, the United States Environmental Protection Agency fined Motiva LLC $1,955,083 for environmental violations.

According to the EPA's Toxics Release Inventory, the Motiva Port Arthur refinery is the biggest polluter in the 77640 zip code, releasing approximately 1,400,000 pounds of chemical pollutants into the surrounding air and water in 2015

The facility releases 25 different chemicals linked to cancer growth and development, including benzene and arsenic, according to a 2015 data set provided by the EPA. The refinery also releases 51 other chemicals, including ammonia and chlorine, that have health impacts not related to cancer.

Environmental Emissions Track
According to EPA data on the Port Arthur Refinery, surface water discharges of pollutants have been on a steady rise since 2007, with discharge levels increasing from 693,342 lbs/year to 1,258,901 lbs/year in the span of 8 years. Total air emissions have increased in the past 6 years, from 85,111 lbs/year to 180,818 lbs/year. Total onsite (onsite defined as within the confines of the Port Arthur refinery land) releases of pollutants have increased from 2007 to 2015, while total offsite releases have decreased dramatically from 2007 to 2014. However, 2015 offsite releases of pollutants have sharply increased by 1130%.

Pro-Industry
Some people are supportive of the refinery's presence in the city of Port Arthur. People like former mayor Oscar Ortiz believe that Port Arthur's identity and well-being are tied up with the refineries that inhabit it. He states, "If industry goes away, people might as well go away too because there'll be no money. That's the continued salvation of this city." He also dismisses complaints of adverse health effects, saying "We've all got to die of something."

Some residents and community leaders are neutral to supportive of industry because the refineries give money to community organizations.

Anti-Industry
Some residents who are fed up with the pollution believe the answer is to move away. Edward Brooks II, a Port Arthur resident says, “Anyone with any knowledge knows they should move on. The government is not doing anything to protect us. They tell us about the emissions but they don’t do anything about it. They don’t care. Half the kids here need help breathing. A lot of them have breathing machines at home and at school. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see that this is not normal." However, the populations around the refineries are majority black, brown, and poor white people, who lack the resources to move to a less polluted area.

Other people want accountability for the negative effects of pollution. Hilton Kelley, another Port Arthur resident, is a prominent leader in the campaign for restrictions on emissions and reparations for medical costs. He says, “We are not trying to shut down these petrochemical plants,” Kelley explains. The refineries provide thousands of jobs in Port Arthur and are an important part of the local economy: “We just want them to clean up their act.” After much community organizing and campaigning, Kelley negotiated a $2 million Community Enhancement Agreement with Motiva, to improve housing, social opportunities, and community programs. Kelley sits on the board of directors.

1968
A minor explosion involving a petrol storage tank caused a fire, killing 3 and injuring 5.

1977
An accident involving propane killed 4.

1998
On the morning of October 16, an employee who was spotting and connecting trains was run over and killed by a train.

2007
On August 9, 25 year old contractor Emery Bowie stood on a Caterpillar bulldozer and it unexpectedly moved backwards, entangling him in the track. The bulldozer dragged him into Alligator Bayou. He was killed in the incident and his body was severely mutilated when found by other workers.

2008
A lawsuit against Motiva Enterprises LLC for their pollution the Alligator Bayou next to the Port Arthur Refinery yielded a settlement of $1,200,000 for the plaintiffs, the collective group of Texas General Land Office ("GLO"), the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department ("TPWD"), and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality ("TCEQ") known as the "Trustees".

2009
On the morning of December 8, an accident caused an explosion in the hydrogen unit run by Praxair Inc. No one was injured.

2010
On April 19, a 22 ton counterweight tray fell from a boom crane, crushing and killing 41 year old Stewart Shaver.

2012
In early June, after two fires erupted and a heater broke, workers noticed that caustic vapors had leaked out of a tank and caused widespread accelerated corrosion of pipes and equipment.

2015
In late July, a catalytic reformer caught fire. No one was injured.

In January of 2015 the US EPA filed a civil lawsuit against Motiva's parent company, Equilon Enterprises, for violations of the Clean Air Act at its many oil refineries, including its Port Arthur facility. The violations included elevated levels of ethanol in gasoline, violations of the gasoline volatility and sulfur standards, violations of the diesel sulfur standards, and numerous recordkeeping, reporting, sampling and testing violations. Equilon Enterprises was required to pay a civil penalty of $900,000.