Equilon California

Equilon is a subsidiary of Shell Oil, and operates refineries in Bakersfield and Wilmington, California; corporate offices are located in the latter. In addition to oil refining, the company also provides construction facilities for refineries, including the installation of oil and gas pipelines.

Poor Environmental Record

In 2002, the US Environmental Protection Agency cited Shell Oil Products US, previously called Equilon, in Martinez as being among the top dischargers to the San Francisco Bay. It was described as releasing ammonia, methanol, MTBE, nickel nitrates, phenol and zinc, as well as other toxic chemicals. The EPA reported that in 2000, chemicals discharged to water increased by 26 percent over 1999 levels, primarily from a pulp mill in Humboldt County and the Equilon refinery.

Asbestos and Oil Refineries

During the majority of the last century, the mineral called asbestos was used as a building material whenever fire or excessive heat was a danger. Facilities like Equilon refineries in California, as a result, were generally built using materials containing asbestos. Resistance to reactive chemicals is perhaps a less well-known property of some types of amphibole asbestos. Due to the nature of the work that occurs at oil refineries, asbestos, therefore, was not only used in factory buildings, but also in coating materials, work surfaces and safety clothing. Asbestos, however, had a notable downside that was either not known or sometimes deliberately ignored: serious and often lethal medical conditions were found to be the result of exposure to asbestos.

Generally, amosite was the type of asbestos utilized. Often called "brown asbestos", amosite is especially good at resisting acidic substances like those manufactured in plants like Equilon refineries in California because of the iron in its chemical makeup. Used for many years in the form of asbestos transite in labs, chemical plants and oil refineries across the US, amosite was eventually disallowed for construction purposes in the 1970s.

Asbestos transite could be molded into working surfaces and sprayed onto ductwork and pipes just as cement could. As long as it was solid, this form of asbestos posed little risk. Microscopic fibers of asbestos enter into the atmosphere, however, as asbestos-containing transite grows older and becomes prone to crumbling. That is, such asbestos is friable, a term used to describe material that is easy to crush. The insulation lining of industrial kilns also frequently were fabricated with friable asbestos.

Why Friable Asbestos Is a Problem

Asbestos particles, when they are friable, can be easily dispersed into the atmosphere. Diseases such as asbestosis and cancer can result from being exposed to airborne asbestos. Mesothelioma, a rare and often lethal cancer affecting the mesothelium (the lining between the lungs and the pleural cavity), is strongly linked with asbestos exposure. If those particles of asbestos in the air settle on food or in beverages and are subsequently ingested, peritoneal or pericardial mesothelioma may occur, though they are less common than pleural mesothelioma.

In the past few decades medical researchers have learned a lot concerning the risks that accompany asbestos exposure, and therefore there are strict regulations controlling its use. When petrochemical processing plants like Equilon refineries in California were built, however, asbestos was more commonplace. Before modern rules were enacted, employees frequently toiled without respirators or other safety gear in spaces where asbestos dust clouded the air.

A Ticking Bomb

One of the insidious aspects of asbestos exposure is that resulting illnesses can take ten, twenty, or even thirty years to appear - frequently decades after a worker has retired from the employer. The symptoms of asbestos-related diseases - chest pain and dyspnea - may easily be mistaken for the symptoms of other disorders. Men and women that were employed by or spent much time near sites like Equilon refineries in California should, therefore, notify their doctors about the possibility of asbestos exposure. In addition, even people who commuted in the same cars with these people are also in danger, since unless effective decontamination policies, including using on-site uniforms and showers, were followed, it was quite possible for employees to bring asbestos fibers on their persons or their clothing. Those who may have been negligently exposed are encouraged to contact a mesothelioma attorney.

Sources

Kay, Jane, San Francisco Chronicle - Refineries top polluters on EPA list in Bay Area / Discharges taint air, water and land (San Francisco Chronicle, May 24, 2002)

Manta - Equilon Oil Refinery
http://www.manta.com/coms2/dnbcompany_cjp8jl

Spoke - Equilon Enterprises LLC Company Profile.
http://www.spoke.com/public/pages/A/company/000/001/020

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