Oil Refineries
Oil Refinery Workers Exposed to Asbestos on the Job
Oil refinery workers may have been exposed to high levels of asbestos on a daily basis. These major oil refineries across the country represent a growing list of refineries where our clients have been exposed to asbestos. In addition to airborne asbestos exposure, the tradesmen who worked at these oil refineries are at a higher risk to develop asbestos diseases including mesothelioma or asbestos cancer.
Alabama
- Coastal Mobile Refinery
- Hunt Oil Company
- Shell Chemical
- Southern Cotton Oil Company
Alaska
- Arco Chemical Company
- Petro Star Company
- Tesoro Alaska Company
- Williams Alaska Petroleum
Arkansas
- Berry Petroleum
- Cross Oil
- Lion Oil Company
- Williams Energy
California
- Anchor Refining
- Arco Oil Refinery
- Atlantic Richfield California
- Bakersfield Refining Company
- Chevron Oil
- Equilon Enterprises Llc
- Exxon Mobil Refining & Supply
- Greka Energy
- Huntway Refining
- Kern County Refining, Inc.
- Los Angeles Refining Company
- Martinez Refining Company
- Mobil Oil Refinery
- Occidental Oil Company Refinery
- Paramount Petroleum
- San Joaquin Refining
- Shell Oil Refinery - Martinez
- Tosco Refining California
- Ultramar Diamond California
- Union Oil Company
- Union Oil Cracking Plant
- Union Oil Refinery
- Union Oil Refinery - El Segundo
- Union Oil Refinery - San Pedro
- World Oil Lunday-Thagard Company
Colorado
- Conoco Oil Refinery
- Gary Williams Energy
- Ultramar Diamond Colorado
Delaware
- Delaware City Refinery
- Motiva Enterprises Delaware
Georgia
- Young Refining
Hawaii
- Chevron Hawaii
- Tesoro Hawaii
Illinois
- Citgo Petroleum Illinois
- Clark Illinois
- Equilon Illinois
- Marathon Oil Illinois
- Mobil Oil Illinois
Indiana
- BP Amoco Indiana
- Countrymark Cooperative
- Laketon Refining
Kansas
- Farmland Industries
- Frontier Oil Kansas
- National Cooperative
Kentucky
- Marathon Refinery Kentucky
- Somerset Refinery
Louisiana
- American International
- BP Amoco Louisiana
- Calcasieu Refining
- Canal Refining
- Cit-Con Oil
- Citgo Refinery Louisiana
- Conoco Refinery Louisiana
- Convent Refinery
- Exxon Louisiana
- Marathon Refinery Louisiana
- Mobil Oil Louisiana
- Murphy Oil Louisiana
- Norco Refining Company Louisiana
- Orion Refining
- Pennzoil Refinery Louisiana
- Placid Refining
- Shell Chemical Louisiana
- Valero Energy Louisiana
Maryland
- Crown Central Petroleum
Michigan
- Marathon Refinery Michigan
Minnesota
- Koch Petroleum Minnesota
- Marathon Refinery Minnesota
Mississippi
- Chevron Mississippi
- Ergon Refining Mississippi
- Southland Oil
Montana
- Cenex Harvest States
- Conoco Montana
- Exxon Montana
- Montana Refining
Nebraska
- Philips Petroleum Fertilizer Plant
Nevada
- Foreland Refining
New Jersey
- Amerada-Hess New York
- Tosco Refining New Jersey
- Valero Energy New Jersey
New Mexico
- Giant Refining New Mexico
- Navajo Refining
North Dakota
- BP Amoco North Dakota
Ohio
- BP Amoco Ohio
- Clark Refining Ohio
- Marathon Ohio
- Sunoco Ohio
Oklahoma
- Conoco Oklahoma
- Sinclair Oil Oklahoma
Oregon
- Paramount Oil Refinery - Portland
Pennsylvania
- Kendall Refining
- Pennzoil
- Sunoco Pennsylvania
- Sunoco Philadelphia
- Tosco Pennsylvania
- United Refining
Texas
- AGE Refining
- BP Amoco
- Chevron
- Citgo
- Clark Refining
- Coastal Refining
- Exxon
- Fina Oil
- Koch
- Lyondell-Citgo
- Marathon
- Mobil Oil Texas
- Motiva Enterprises
- Phillips Pride Refining
- Port Arthur
- Shell Deer Park Refining
- Specified Fuels
- Ultramar Diamond
- Valero Energy
Utah
- BP Amoco Utah
- Chevron Utah
- Inland Refining
- Phillips Petroleum
- Standard Oil Refining
Virginia
- BP Amoco Virginia
- Yorktown Refinery
Washington
- Atlantic Richfield
- Equilon
- Puget Sound Refining Company
- Shell Oil Refinery - Anacortes
- Sound Refining
- Tesoro West Coast
- Tosco Refining
- US Oil and Refining
West Virginia
- Ergon - West Virginia
Wisconsin
- Murphy Oil USA
Wyoming
- Frontier
- Little America Refining
- Sinclair Oil
- Standard Oil Refinery - Casper
- Texaco Oil Refinery
- Wyoming Refining
Oil Refineries and Asbestos
In almost all of the last century, whenever fire or extreme temperature was a risk, the mineral called asbestos was selected as a building material. Materials that contained asbestos, accordingly, were frequently used when building oil refineries. Resistance to reactive chemicals is perhaps a less well-known property of certain kinds of asbestos. In light of the nature of the work that occurs in oil refineries, asbestos, therefore, was not only used in factory buildings, but also in safety clothing, benches and coating materials. And although the asbestos worked well in preventing the spread of fire and in protecting lives from extreme temperatures, the mineral also exposed those same people to significant health risks.
Amosite was almost always the variety of asbestos used in such locations. When mixed with chrysotile, which is impervious to heat and bases but not as resistant to acids, the amphibole amosite creates materials that are especially good at protecting against corrosive substances. Although it was outlawed as a construction material in the 1970s, this amosite, in the form of asbestos transite, was used for decades in refineries and labs across the US.
Asbestos transite could be molded into working surfaces and sprayed onto pipes and ductwork just as cement could. As long as it was solid, this form of asbestos posed little danger. As transite with asbestos containing material (ACM) gets older and become prone to crumbling, however, lethal, microscopic particles are able to float into the air. When it is in this state, it is considered friable, or able to be pulverized by hand pressure alone. Also, industrial kilns frequently were constructed with friable asbestos in insulation linings.
