http://michiganmessenger.com/38164/bp-refinery-threatens-great-lakes-ecosystemBP refinery threatens Great Lakes ecosystem
Whiting, Indiana plant has history of environmental violations
By Eartha Jane Melzer 5/25/10 10:27 AM
While British Petroleum (BP) is in the news for the ongoing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico — quickly becoming the worst environmental disaster in the nation’s history — environmental groups and lawmakers are arguing that the company’s environmental practices pose a similar threat to the Great Lakes.
BP’s Whiting oil refinery, on the southeastern shore of Lake Michigan in Indiana, is the nation’s fourth largest refinery and is in the process of a $3.8 billion dollar expansion project aimed at boosting its capacity to process oil from the Canadian tar sands.
The mega-refinery is the 6th largest source of industrial pollution in the Chicago area, according to an analysis by the Chicago Tribune, and its expanded operations are expected to increase greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent — the equivalent of adding 320,000 cars to area roads.
The BP facility already has a history of environmental violations.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency the refinery has violated air pollution rules since 2005 by modifying the plant in ways that have increased its toxic emissions without needed permits or pollution controls.
The plant’s un-permitted modifications have resulted in a significant increase in nitrogen oxides (NO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide(C0), and particulate matter less than 10 microns (PM10) emissions at a major pollution source in an area that already has very poor air quality, EPA said.
The agency warned that these emissions contribute to acid rain, increase smog levels and contribute to cardiovascular disease, lung damage, and premature deaths.
In May 2009 EPA cited the company for excessive benzene releases going back six years. According to EPA BP released 16 times the allowable limit of benzene in 2008.
“Benzene is a known human carcinogen, shown to cause leukemia,“ the agency wrote. “Ecological effects include death in exposed animal, bird and fish populations and death or reduced growth rate in plant life.”--------------------------------------------------------
http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100528/EDIT07/305289926/1021/EDITThe oil spill near the Gulf Coast is not the only environmental mistake by BP.
The company’s environmental record is also creating problems in Indiana. Environmental groups have protested against the slipshod oversight from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management of the BP Whiting refinery in northwest Indiana for years.
Neighboring states were incensed when IDEM granted a discharge permit allowing the refinery to increase the pollution it dumps into Lake Michigan – at a point very close to where Chicago gets its drinking water. The same plant has also received a citation from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency because of clean-air violations.
And last week, a coalition of environmental groups, including the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club, released a report titled “Tar Sands Invasion: How Dirty and Expensive Oil from Canada Threatens America’s New Energy Economy.”
The report shows that a planned expansion to allow the plant to process Canadian oil shale will increase pollution and health concerns for Hoosiers living near the plant.
--------------------------------
So needless to say I wouldn't be expecting BP to be the Knight in Shining Armor that the Republicans have been making them out to be when it comes to helping out the people in the Gulf. Expect a prolonged fight against these bastards. And when you think you have won you probably haven't.
Hate to be the bearer of bad news on this. But BP is not your friend.
I have learned this the hard way.
Don
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
