Petroleum, Refineries, and the Future

Location Implications of Refineries

Because petroleum refineries require vast amounts of land, a great amount of refineries exist along the Gulf Coast of the U.S. Huber suggests the average refinery requires at least one thousand hectares, often times even more. Due to the large territory requirement, refineries would often purchase previously owned slave land in the Gulf Coast region (68). When large plantations couldn’t function without the use of slave labor, land became readily available. Generally the neighborhoods in which petroleum refineries reside are those of low-income individuals as well as minorities. Abigail D. Blodgett of Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina, describes the environmental injustice in “Cancer Alley,” specifically in St James Parish, Louisiana (in Louisiana, parish means county). She describes how the people who are most affected by the chemical emissions in the area are those of color and/or low-income individuals. Those who face the burden of petroleum refineries are victims of inequality.

Blodgett performed a study using geographic information system (GIS) in order to map out who is affected most in the St James Parish area. The study concluded the people who are most affected by the refining industry are people of color who generally have little political power. St James Parish has a high percentage of minorities in comparison with other counties in the U.S., for minorities make up 50% of the population with 49.4% African American (Blodgett 650). In 1990, the University of Michigan analyzed results from 15 previously conducted studies. Out of the 15, 11 of the studies concluded distribution of pollution was inequitable by race (648). Overall, University of Michigan concluded race was a better indicator than income of where facilities tend to be located. The tracts in the St James Parish area with the least amount of African American residents don’t contain any facilities and has the highest average household income as well as most high school graduates. Also, the residents who work at these facilities tend to live the farthest away (651). Especially after the flooding of many refining industries from Hurricane Katrina, many minority and low-income individuals have faced the environmental effects the most, for most facilities reside in neighborhoods consisting of minority and low-income populations (659). The disparity of who is affected is concerning because as a citizen, one's duty is to look out for those less represented. 

A petroleum refining facility located St James Parish by the name of Motiva, states on their company website, “We Earn Our ‘Good Neighbor’ Designation.” Motiva’s website consists of light-hearted photographs of Motiva employees volunteering in the community. The website also talks about how they invest in their communities and help the community stay healthy (Motiva). If all petroleum refineries treated their neighborhoods the way Motiva says they do, there wouldn’t be an issue with environmental injustice; however, history has shown that isn’t the case.  Julie Sze of University of California, Davis describes an analysis of the Motiva complex. In 1997, two million pounds of toxic chemicals were released (Sze). No matter how much a refinery company pledges to be a good neighbor, the refinery itself is a pollutant to the neighborhood causing environmental and health implications. According to Meridian Energy Group Incorporated, North Dakota is proposing a new refinery in Billings County called the Davis Refinery (Meridian Energy Group). The issues refineries pose aren’t solely in Texas or “Cancer Alley,” for refineries exist in the Midwest as well and are even proposed as the future of energy. 


Works Cited 

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