EPA Fines Shell Oil Refinery, but is it Enough?

April 18, 2018Environmental Instruments BlogBy Nikki Wolf

In February, citizens of Norco, Louisiana finally saw some action taken by the EPA to mitigate the long list of air pollution violations at the Shell Oil refinery in their town. The list of violations originated during the Obama administration, and just reached a settlement of $350,000 in fines.¹ Local environmentalists felt that the settlement was barely a “slap on the wrist” though and said that the government should have been enforcing the pollution laws 20 years ago.

Since 2009, local environmental advocates have been testing and documenting the pollution expelled by the refinery. They consistently found benzene, a carcinogen that can cause central nervous system and bone marrow damage that is linked to an increased risk of developing lymphatic and hematopoietic cancers, acute myelogenous leukemia, as well as chronic lymphocytic leukemia.² Unfortunately, even though the settlement was reached and Shell was also instructed to spend $10 million on new pollution control equipment, activists are concerned that due to the lack of regulatory enforcement, the pollution will continue.

The fines, penalties, and spend required to clean up pollution have all drastically decreased from administration to administration, and environmentalists do not feel that the drip is due to better behavior among polluters.

Source:

¹ https://www.ishn.com/articles/108222-epa-fine-for-shell-refinery-a-slap-on-the-wrist-claim-safety-activists

² https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/benzene#section=Top

Let’s talk instruments!

Talk with one of our experts to get your questions answered and see how we can help you solve your environmental instrumentation pain points.

About the author

Nikki Wolf

Nikki Wolf joined Mesa in June of 2016 as a Marketing Specialist for all product lines. As a marketing specialist, Nikki is responsible for developing and creating content for all social media channels, managing Mesa Lab’s tradeshow presence and participation, and writing content for Mesa's website, blogs, newsletters, and press releases. Prior to joining the company, Ms. Wolf provided marketing services in several industries, including contract manufacturing, sustainability services, optics, medical, and finance. Nikki received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Leadership and Organizational Studies and her Master of Professional Studies in Public Relations and Marketing from University of Denver.