Winds of Change Newsletter, September 2005     See sidebar for table of contents

Marathon Ashland Needlessly Putting Community at Risk

by Janet Keating*

The Marathon Ashland refinery uses and stores 160,000 pounds of hydrogen fluoride (HF), a highly toxic chemical used to boost the production of high-octane gasoline.

HF is one of the deadliest chemicals in use today. When released it forms a dense, ground-hugging cloud of lethal gas that can travel five miles before dissipating. HF, four times more toxic than cyanide, is the only chemical known to etch glass.

In 1987, Marathon’s Texas City refinery released 30,000 pound of HF, the largest known release, sending over 1,000 people to the hospital.

Approximately 240,000 people live within the “vulnerability zone” of Marathon-Ashland’s Cattletsburg, Ky., refinery. In the event of a worst-case scenario accident involving HF, thousands could succumb to the chemical’s toxic effects, including slow-healing burns; damage to eyes including blindness; heart failure; severe bone damage (including liquefying); and death.

A report released by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group says that 50 oil refineries across the country – including a dozen in Texas – are putting millions of Americans at unnecessary risk by using highly toxic hydrofluoric acid.

Safer alternatives exist NOW. In this age of terrorism threats, the best way to deal with HF is to eliminate its use. Marathon Ashland should change the alkylation process and use a safer alternative. In the very least, they should also use local skilled and trained workers to do routine maintenance on the HF alkylation unit.

While refinery officials claim their water mitigation systems would knock down a cloud of this toxic gas, what if that system malfunctions? Why not just use a fail-safe alternative?

* Janet Keating is the former Janet Fout.