We went over a general description of what refineries do and how they separate the different types of fuels from the crude in the last blog. Now what if I was to want to get a job there and possibly start a career in the oil industry what dangers would I be facing? Working in refineries has a wealth of unsung problems that are overlooked for nothing more than the necessity of the oil in the economy. The refinery workers also referred to as rough necks or roustabouts have a tough job they work for not nearly enough pay for the constant threat of fires, explosions, lead poisoning, unsafe scaffolding, heat exposure, falling and much more. Case in point just last February the Sun Ray refinery in Texas one of six of the refiner corporation Valero the largest on North American soil. This refinery produces about 170,000 barrels a day caught fire and the smoke plumes could be seen up to 60 miles away from the burning oil and gases. Luckily there were no deaths but about 17 were critically wounded before the blaze was controlled.
Next disaster that is on rough necks minds is the chance for sudden explosions where you don’t see them coming but chances are you won’t see anything after it happens either. Case I am referring to is an explosion that took place in Texas City that killed 15 workers and injured over 70 others. This was a rather fast extinguished fire but the pure force of the blast shook windows and walls and could be felt for miles by the local inhabitants. Reason I bring this up is this incident could be easily avoided had the refinery owned by BP taken steps to correct problems already known and documented before the incident had taken place. I believe things like this testament of gross negligence should be addressed and the safety of the workers should not take the backseat just so the owners can make a profit and see how many barrels they can produce in a day.
Next disaster that is on rough necks minds is the chance for sudden explosions where you don’t see them coming but chances are you won’t see anything after it happens either. Case I am referring to is an explosion that took place in Texas City that killed 15 workers and injured over 70 others. This was a rather fast extinguished fire but the pure force of the blast shook windows and walls and could be felt for miles by the local inhabitants. Reason I bring this up is this incident could be easily avoided had the refinery owned by BP taken steps to correct problems already known and documented before the incident had taken place. I believe things like this testament of gross negligence should be addressed and the safety of the workers should not take the backseat just so the owners can make a profit and see how many barrels they can produce in a day.
4 comments:
More good information here...but where are you getting these facts? Definitely use hyperlinking or good, old-fashioned referencing/citations to lead us to your original sources. That will provide even more depth here. Finally, where did these great figures/photos come from?
Craig,
You have some great information in your blog that I did not know. Just thinking about 170,000 barrels being on fire and what damage could come from it. It is good that your adding pictures, they help. I need to add a couple and publish them. Looking forward to reading more of your blog.
Didn't realize so much went into oil. Would be interesting to compare the size of 250K barrels to something - just for a visual.
I know that OSHA puts standards on all occupations, especially ones that seem to pose such life threatening risks such as the refineries. What types of safety issues/concerns were there in past in those refineries? Or does it seem that all of them have the same problems? Are the companies doing anything about them, or are the workers just at their mercy? I hope that the workers get great benefits for taking all the risks. They deserve it.
Very informative blog on a not to common topic. Great job.
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