Delaware City Refinery

The Delaware City Refinery, owned by Valero Energy Corp., is a 5,000-acre facility south of Wilmington, Delaware. The refinery closed in November, 2009, but at one time produced 210,000 barrels per day of oil. On the site were a 1,800-ton-per-day petroleum coke gasification unit and a 180-megawatt co-generation power plant. Petroleum coke was sold or used to fuel the power plant to supply the refinery with electricity and steam.

Acquired with the purchase of Premcor in 2005, the Delaware City Refinery was commissioned in 1956. It produced conventional and reformulated gasoline as well as low-sulfur diesel, home heating oil and ultra-low-sulfur diesel. All of the refinery's crude oil was received by ship, and its products were shipped out via barge or by pipeline or truck.

Awards

The Delaware City Refinery has received several awards and honors. It has been the recipient of several National Petrochemical and Refiners Association Safety Awards. Other honors were in recognition of the refinery's humane efforts, such as the Team Spirit Award for the most participants in the Walk Against Family Violence in 2007, and by the American Diabetes Association for participation in the Tour de Cure in May 2007.

Closure

Citing economic conditions, refinery troubles and high local costs, Valero announced in November 2009 that the Delaware City refinery would close, reporting that the plant was losing $1 million a day. A full maintenance shutdown was announced the month before, but in a later report, the company said the facility would close permanently and 550 full-time workers at the site would face layoffs.

In January 2010, Valero reported a $1.4 billion loss for the fourth quarter of 2009 and said that it lost nearly $2 billion for all of 2009. It also closed a plant in Aruba in August 2009, citing weak demand for its products.

The Delaware City Refinery and Asbestos

If combustion or heat was a danger, asbestos was the insulator of choice in most of the 1900s. Therefore, it was quite common for plants such as the Delaware City Refinery to be built with asbestos-containing materials. Another property of some types of the fibrous mineral is that they are resistant to chemical reactions. Floor and ceiling tiles, insulation, benches, even protective clothing, therefore, commonly were made with the fibrous mineral. One of the ironic things with asbestos is that although it does a great job of guarding against the damage associated with high temperatures or fire - it is one of the best insulators known and has been used for the purpose throughout history - it also poses significant risks to people's well being.

Amosite was almost always the variety of asbestos utilized in these plants. Often called "brown asbestos", amosite is particularly good at resisting corrosive chemicals like those produced in oil refineries because of the iron molecules in its chemical makeup. This amosite, in the form of asbestos transite, was utilized in laboratories, chemical plants and oil refineries across the US for many years before it was outlawed in building materials in the 1970s.

Asbestos transite could be laminated, sprayed onto ductwork and pipes and molded into working surfaces in the same way cement could. This form of asbestos did not pose a health hazard as long as it stayed solid. With age, however, transite with asbestos-containing material (ACM) grows prone to becoming powdery, enabling tiny fibers to float into the atmosphere. Asbestos when it is in this condition is considered friable, which means easily crushed. Laboratory ovens also frequently were fabricated with friable asbestos as part of their insulation linings.

Why Is Friable Asbestos a Problem?

Asbestos fibers, when they are friable, are readily dispersed into the air. If someone breathes these particles, they can harm the lungs, causing cancer or asbestosis. In addition, inhaling asbestos is the leading causal factor of mesothelioma, a rare and often fatal cancer of the mesothelium, the tissue that lies between the lungs and the chest cavity. Swallowing asbestos fibers, as can occur when those tiny fibers float in the air and settle on food or drinks, may be the cause of pericardial or peritoneal mesothelioma.

In the past twenty years scientists and researchers have learned much information about the risks that accompany asbestos exposure; therefore there are strict guidelines regulating its use. The use of asbestos was more commonplace, however, when places like the Delaware City Refinery were constructed. Before modern regulations were put into place, employees frequently toiled without respirators or other safety gear in spaces where asbestos dust filled the air.

The Lurking Hazard of Asbestos

One of the insidious aspects of exposure to asbestos is the associated diseases may take ten, twenty, or even thirty years to develop - frequently decades after the worker has left the employer. With such a long time between exposure to asbestos and the appearance of the resulting disease, a worker may not even connect the current condition with work he or she did up to 40 years ago. It is extremely important, therefore, that all who were employed by or lived around plants such as the Delaware City Refinery ask their health care professionals for mesothelioma information. Furthermore, family members and others who shared homes with these people are also in danger, as unless effective safety measures, such as the use of on-site uniforms and showers, were in place, it was common for people to bring asbestos on their skin, in their hair, or on their clothes. Mesothelioma surgery can sometimes be used to treat the cancer.

Sources

Valero Energy Corp. - Delaware City
http://www.valero.com/OurBusiness/OurLocations/Refineries/Pages/DelawareCity.aspx

USA Today - Valero Refinery in Delaware City to Close Permanently
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2009-11-20-valero-closing_N.htm

Chron Business - Valero Hopes Slump in Refining has Bottomed Out as It Posts Loss
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/6839176.html

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