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The article discusses a report that identifies the Navajo Refining Company in Artesia, New Mexico as one of 50 refineries nationwide that uses hydrofluoric acid in processing and puts nearby populations at risk. The report estimates the Artesia facility places over 25,000 people at risk. However, the refinery manager says the facility operates safely within federal guidelines and has extensive safety and security measures in place to prevent leaks and respond to emergencies. While some advocate switching to alternative technologies, the manager argues all refining poses risks and they can continue operating safely.
The article discusses a report that identifies the Navajo Refining Company in Artesia, New Mexico as one of 50 refineries nationwide that uses hydrofluoric acid in processing and puts nearby populations at risk. The report estimates the Artesia facility places over 25,000 people at risk. However, the refinery manager says the facility operates safely within federal guidelines and has extensive safety and security measures in place to prevent leaks and respond to emergencies. While some advocate switching to alternative technologies, the manager argues all refining poses risks and they can continue operating safely.
The article discusses a report that identifies the Navajo Refining Company in Artesia, New Mexico as one of 50 refineries nationwide that uses hydrofluoric acid in processing and puts nearby populations at risk. The report estimates the Artesia facility places over 25,000 people at risk. However, the refinery manager says the facility operates safely within federal guidelines and has extensive safety and security measures in place to prevent leaks and respond to emergencies. While some advocate switching to alternative technologies, the manager argues all refining poses risks and they can continue operating safely.
Lisa Ridgely Record Staff Writer Oil refineries put millions of Americans at risk of physical injury or death in the case of an accident or terrorist attack and nearly 25,000 of them are right here in southeastern New Meico, according to a report released !uesday "y the #nited $tates %u"lic &nterest 'esearch (roup) !he Na*ajo 'efining +ompany in Artesia was targeted "y the report, titled ,Needless 'isk- Oil 'efineries and .a/ard 'eduction,0 as one of two in the state, and one of 50 in the nation, that uses hydrofluoric acid in the processing of petroleum products) 1espite those findings, Na*ajo 'efining does not see the need to change its current system, a facility official said) ,At this point, we are operating within federal go*ernment guidelines,0 said 2im 'esinger, refinery manager) ,!here are no laws or mandates that say 3a refinery using hydrofluoric acid4 can5t "e operated in a safe, relia"le manner)0 Oil refineries ha*e "een identified "y the National &nfrastructure %rotection +enter, which is part of the 1epartment for .omeland $ecurity, as targets for terrorists) An attack on refineries could release the dangerous su"stance into the air) .ydrofluoric acid, when released into the air, forms a sta"le *apor cloud that can cause serious "urns and throat and lung pro"lems if inhaled) ,!he goal of our organi/ation is just to get this out to the pu"lic,0 said 'o"ert %eek, New Meico %&'( 6ducation 7und +iti/en Outreach 1irector) ,!he ultimate goal would "e to get these plants to either cut "ack production of hydrofluoric acid or cut "ack how much they store on8site, or switch to the alternati*e,0 he said) !he report studies 50 refineries in 20 states, finding more than 95 million people li*e in surrounding communities and are endangered "y the presence of hydrofluoric acid) !he Artesia facility stores 9:,;00 pounds of the acid, placing 2<,5=5 people at risk, according to NM%&'() !hose num"ers were attained from risk management plans annually reported to the 6n*ironmental %rotection Agency "y each refinery ,"ased on their estimations,0 said Meghan %ur*is, #)$) %&'( en*ironmental health associate) 'esinger said nothing in the report surprised him, "ut that the refinery has taken measures to alle*iate risk to the community and its employees) ,>hat we ha*e in place meets all the industry standards,0 he said, including a rapid pump8out system, which transports the acid ?uickly to storage tanks capa"le of holding the entire in*entory@ a remote8acti*ated water curtain, which ,knocks down the *apor cloud so it can5t drift off0@ and an automatic stationary leak monitoring system that operates continuously) &n the case of a leak, remote acti*ated isolation *al*es are in place to minimi/e the duration and *olume of that leak) ,>e also employ a continuous processing computer control and monitoring system,0 he said) !he facility has an emergency ha/ard response plan, which deploys specially trained people and e?uipment, including a .a/mat trailer, to respond in the case of an emergency) &n terms of risk pre*ention, an etensi*e pre*ention maintenance program routine is in place) %hysical security has "een impro*ed as well, he said, with fenceline impro*ement, increased security force num"ers, impro*ed gate inspections, monitored access to the plant, cameras and an educated workforce) +rash "arriers made of concrete ha*e "een erected around the "uilding, especially near roads, ,where *ehicles could get a running start,0 'esinger said) ,>e5*e gone to some considera"le epense to monitor what5s going on around us,0 he said) 'esinger came to Na*ajo in August of 2002, and said a security assessment had already "een completed at that time) Na*ajo is owned "y 1allas8"ased .olly +orporation, and produces =0,000 "arrels per day) !he other New Meico refinery identified "y the report is the +ini/a 'efinery in 2amestown that contains =5,000 pounds of hydrofluoric acid) !he report offers three safer options to refineries using hydrofluoric acid as a catalyst for alkylates- change the alkylation process to use a solid acid catalyst, con*ert to a sulfuric acid unit or add modifiers to decrease the gaseous nature of the acid and install mitigation systems) ,6tensi*e0 mitigation systems are in place at Na*ajo, 'esinger said, and the cost to switch to sulfuric acid is ,?uite an epensi*e re*amp to con*ert o*er)0 !he "ottom line, he said, is that no matter what technology is used, the risks don5t go away) ,!he truth inherent in the refining industry is that any num"er of risks are associated with it,0 he said) ,>ith ha/ardous chemicals that you need to make sure you handle properly, safety is at the forefront here in e*erything that we do)0 %ur*is said she can5t "elie*e the federal go*ernment hasn5t tightened ha/ardous chemical re?uirements for refineries, gi*en the increased risk of terror attacks) ,& think it5s outrageous that we are still sitting here, two years after $ept) 99, and there are no federal regulations,0 she said) !here ha*e "een three releases of one pound each of hydrofluoric acid at the Artesia refinery in recent years, "ut with no major releases, ,we don5t feel the only way to eliminate risk is to eliminate this,0 'esinger said) ,>e feel we can continue the safe record we5*e demonstrated the past 92 years)0 %eek said the %&'( is not maliciously going after oil companies@ it just wants to make conditions safer for people who li*e near refineries) ,>e just look into pu"lic interests,0 %eek said) ,>e see potential security risk and we don5t want to shut down refineries, we just want them to update their technologies)0
Risk Analysis and Control for Industrial Processes - Gas, Oil and Chemicals: A System Perspective for Assessing and Avoiding Low-Probability, High-Consequence Events