Protect Lake Michigan News

As the new home of Illinois PIRG's environmental work, Environment Illinois can be contacted with any questions regarding this news release.  

Oil refineries needlessly put 3.6 million people in Illinois at risk of injury or death in the event of an accident or deliberate attack, according to a new report released today by the Illinois PIRG Education Fund. The report, Needless Risk: Oil Refineries and Hazard Reduction, documents the major threat posed by refineries to surrounding communities, as well as available technologies that could reduce or eliminate the threat.

"It is unacceptable that oil refineries continue to needlessly threaten so many people’s lives across Illinois," said Diane E. Brown, executive director of the Illinois PIRG Education Fund. "Safer technologies exist but industry has failed to take the public out of harm’s way."

The Illinois PIRG Education Fund focused on the danger of oil refineries that use and store large amounts of hydrofluoric acid onsite. If accidentally released, hydrofluoric acid forms an aerosol cloud over surrounding communities. An acid cloud can cause skin and deep tissue burns, serious bone damage, and death by burns to the skin, tissue or lungs. Symptoms from exposure continue for days if injuries are not treated and may not even appear for up to 24 hours after exposure.

There is a long history of accidents at oil refineries that use hydrofluoric acid. The largest hydrofluoric acid accident in the United States took place in 1987 in Texas City, Texas, when a pipe ruptured at a refinery and released 30,000 pounds of the chemical. More than a thousand people were sent to the hospital as a result of the accident, and 3,000 residents were forced to evacuate their community for three days.

After the September 11th attacks, the Department of Homeland Security, Justice Department, General Accounting Office, U.S. Army Surgeon General, and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Control issued reports drawing attention to security at chemical and industrial facilities. Critics argue that chemical plants are attractive terrorist targets with ineffective physical security, and that they can be made safer but that voluntary efforts by industry are insufficient. According to these reports, a lone adversary could trigger the release of thousands of pounds of hydrofluoric acid. In January of 2002, for example, a robber carrying a shotgun broke into a facility owned by Citgo Petroleum Company in Texas, despite Citgo’s claims to have improved security since September 11th.

Illinois, with more than 3.6 million people living within the vulnerability zone of a refinery using hydrofluoric acid, ranks second in terms of number of people at risk because of its use. Nationwide, more than 15.6 million people are within the vulnerability zone of such a facility.

Needless Risk documents cost-effective alternatives to hydrofluoric acid at oil refineries. New facilities can be built using solid acid catalysts, completely eliminating the risk of a toxic cloud, for nearly the same cost as building a new hydrofluoric acid facility. In addition, existing refineries could switch to sulfuric acid, which poses less of an off-site threat, or to modified hydrofluoric acid, which reduces the severity of the consequences of an accidental release. The report authors pointed to the Valero Energy Corporation, near Los Angeles, which recently agreed to switch to modified hydrofluoric acid in response to public pressure after a 1987 accident.

"Illinois facilities should follow Valero’s lead or, even better, completely protect Illinoisans by switching to solid acid catalysts," recommended Brown, "Reducing and eliminating chemical hazards is the best way to fully protect Illinois communities from accidental releases or terrorist attacks involving industrial chemicals."

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has identified more than 120 chemical facilities that each put more than one million people at risk of injury or death because of the hazardous chemicals they use and store onsite. No federal government regulation requires industries to consider implementing inherently safer technology.

"As Congress debates this issue, they should remember the millions of people living in the shadow of oil refineries," added Ryan Canney, environmental organizer with Citizen Action/Illinois. "Congress must pass legislation that requires all chemical facilities change their processes and chemicals where possible, to prevent any accidental releases or attacks," Canney concluded.