Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Benzene, Burnett, denver, Denver Suncor refinery, petroleum refinery, Sand Creek, Suncor, toxic cloud
Burnett said it appeared a blower on the unit that processes crude oil stopped working, causing the catalyst material to escape as a yellowish, grayish material until the unit could be shut down.
The unit is is involved in processing gasoline from crude oil, she said.
“It was very short,” Burnett said. “It lasted less than a few minutes.”
She said federal agencies that regulate the plant will be notified to allow them to investigate further, if they wish, she said.
via Plume of "dust" from Suncor refinery shuts roads briefly – The Denver Post.
I don’t know how to break it to people, but toxic clouds are spewing out of that place all the time, by design.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Benzene, CDHE, denver, Denver drinking water, drinking water, EPA, Epic Fail, Sand Creek, South Platte, Suncor, Suncor refinery, Tank 55, Taste the Benzene!!
It’s one of Denver’s many delightful quirks!
Six months after Suncor Energy’s oil refinery contaminated Sand Creek and nearby property, obstacles remain in containing the pollution, and a full cleanup may be years away.
via Suncor spill clean-up months, years away – The Denver Post.
This is Denver’s drinking water. Serves us right?
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Benzene, Benzol, contaminated drinking water, Sand Creek, South Platte River, Suncor, Suncor refinery leak
I’m offering that up as a possible new official slogan for the city.
“Benzene, also known as benzol, is a colorless liquid with a sweet odor. Benzene evaporates into air very quickly and dissolves slightly in water. Benzene is highly flammable. Most people can begin to smell benzene in air at 1.5-4.7 parts of benzene per million parts of air (ppm) and smell benzene in water at 2 ppm. Most people can begin to taste benzene in water at 0.5-4.5 ppm. One part per million is approximately equal to one drop in 40 gallons….”
From http://www.eco-usa.net/toxics/chemicals/benzene.shtml
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Benzene, broken pipeline, denver, energy, oil sands, peak oil, petroleum, Platte River, refinery, Sand Creek, Suncor, toxic leak
From a new article by Bruce Finley in the Denver Post.
Yes, this is Denver drinking water. They don’t even know where the leak is.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Benzene, Colorado Department of Health, denver, EPA, leak, pipeline, Platte River, rupture, Sand Creek, scoundrels, spill, Suncor
What's in black ooze near Colorado river? Benzene and a mystery – latimes.com.
The short article passes over some choice tidbits, the fact that the health dept. knew about this for a month and did nothing until a fisherman wrote about the spill on his blog, that the dudes at the nearby water treatment plant had to wear respirators due to mystery fumes for a week but nobody thought to trace the source, etc.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: EPA, leak, pipeline, Platte River, Sand Creek, spill, Suncor, toxic waste, water treatment
Update for pipeline haters: This is apparently a ruptured underground pipeline, and a PR disaster.
Sludge in the N. Platte at Sand Creek confluence ignored. State Health Dept. records tell the story.