Conoco Oklahoma

The oil refinery used by ConocoPhillips in Ponca City, Oklahoma, was not always designed for the 187 million barrel per calendar day throughput that it currently has. Instead, it was founded in 1918 as a small refinery to process the crude oil discovered in the area by E. W. Marland, who went to the area looking for oil after striking out in Pennsylvania. At that time, as it was when Conoco was based in Ponca City, however, the refinery drew industry to the area and provided employment for many residents. Ultimately, the Ponca City Refinery was so successful that it contributed to the very development of Conoco as a company, thanks to a merger of the Continental Oil Company and Marland Oil in 1928.

Today, the Ponca City Refinery processes a mixture of light, medium-weight and heavy crude oils. Crude arrives at the refinery via pipeline from the Gulf of Mexico, as well as from Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and as far away as Canada. A high-conversion refinery, the Ponca City facility produces gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, anode-grade petroleum coke and liquefied petroleum gas. This is done thanks to processes that include fluid catalytic cracking, delayed coking and hydro-desulphurization. Once the refinement processes are complete, finished petroleum products are shipped by truck and rail as well as through both company-owned and common-carrier pipelines to markets throughout the Mid-Continent region.

Asbestos in Oil Refineries

During almost all of the 20th century, when combustion or heat was a concern, various forms of asbestos were used as insulation. Therefore, it was typical for petrochemical facilities such as ConocoPhillips' refinery in Ponca City to be built with materials that contained asbestos. One of the other properties of various forms of asbestos is their resistance to chemical reactions. Due to the kind of work that goes on at oil refineries, asbestos, therefore, appeared not only in factory buildings, but also in coating materials, bench tops and protective clothing. And though the asbestos did well in safeguarding against the spread of fire and in protecting people from excessive heat, the mineral also exposed people who used it or worked around it to significant health risks.

Amosite was almost always the variety of asbestos used in these facilities. Amosite is one of the amphibole forms of asbestos, which is generally considered more likely to lead to health problems than the serpentine form. Used for many years in the form of asbestos transite in laboratories, refineries and chemical plants across the US, amosite was finally disallowed in building materials in the 1970s.

As with cement, asbestos transite could be laminated, molded into working surfaces and sprayed onto ductwork and pipes. As a rule, new items built with transite were considered safe since the asbestos particles were encapsulated in the transite. However, as transite with asbestos containing material (ACM) got older, it was prone to crumbling, which enabled the lethal, microscopic particles to float into the atmosphere. Asbestos in this state is called friable, or able to be reduced to powder by hand pressure alone. The insulation lining of laboratory and chemical plant ovens also frequently contained friable asbestos.

Why Is Friable Asbestos Bad?

When they are friable, asbestos particles are readily released in the air. Inhaling asbestos particles can lead to diseases like asbestosis. Another uncommon, and often fatal, disease caused by asbestos is a type of cancer called mesothelioma. The pleural form of the illness, one which affects the lining between the lungs and the pleural cavity, is the most common. Swallowing asbestos fibers, as happens if the microscopic particles become airborne and fall on food or drinks, may result in peritoneal or pericardial mesothelioma.

Because medical research yielded a better knowledge of the risks of asbestos exposure, men and women today benefit from the protection offered by strict laws regulating the use of asbestos. However, when ConocoPhillips' Ponca City Refinery was constructed, asbestos was much more commonplace. Any asbestos remaining from that time can still pose a health hazard if safety procedures are not followed during demolition projects.

The Ticking Bomb

In contrast to many job-related injuries, which are easily observed and known about soon after the causing incident, asbestos-related illnesses may take many, many years to appear. The symptoms of asbestos-related diseases - dyspnea (i.e., shortness of breath), chronic coughing and chest pain - can easily be confused with those of other disorders. It is vital, therefore, that folks who worked at or lived around plants like ConocoPhillips' refinery in Ponca City ask their health care professionals for a mesothelioma treatment guide.Such information can enable physicians make a timely diagnosis; especially with mesothelioma, the earlier it is diagnosed, the higher the chances of surviving or at the least of enjoying an improved quality of life. Doctors could develop a mesothelioma cure one day only palliative treatments currently exist.

Sources

Conoco Museum - Ponca City, OK
http://www.conocomuseum.com/EN/Pages/index.aspx

ConocoPhillips - About ConocoPhillips
http://www.conocophillips.com/EN/about/who_we_are/Pages/index.aspx

ConocoPhillips - US Refining Industry: Central Coast Region
http://www.conocophillips.com/EN/about/worldwide_ops/country/north_america/pages/central.aspx

Ponca City - Marland Oil Company History in Ponca City
http://www.poncacity.com/history_tid-bits_marland_oil.htm

University of Wisconsin - Asbestos Containing Material (ACM) - Laboratories and Shops
http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/EHSRM/ASB/acmimages3.html

University of Wisconsin - Asbestos Disposal
http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/EHSRM/HAZEXCEPTIONS/a.html