HURRICANES FLOOD REFINERIES–This oil refinery in Port Arthur, Texas faced rising flood waters after Hurricane Rita hit the Texas Coast.

In the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, TexPIRG urged the owners of oil refineries and members of Congress to take steps to improve public safety precautions.

The destruction caused by the hurricanes highlights the growing uncertainty as to whether our nation’s refineries are safe enough to withstand the variety of threats they face. Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast, bringing massive flooding, power outages, oil spills and forced evacuations.

While the hurricanes largely spared Texas refineries, the damage could have been significant. Some storm models predict that a Category 5 hurricane could send a tidal wave as high as 30 feet up the Houston Ship Channel, flooding many refineries.

With refineries under repair, their owners have had the opportunity to upgrade pollution controls and look for safer ways of operating that would pose less of a threat to the surrounding community. For example, research shows that refineries that use hydrofluoric acid, a highly dangerous chemical, could be reformatted to use a safer alternative.

“The oil industry is currently enjoying record profits, but they’ve failed to invest those returns into the safe operation of their facilities,” said Meghan Purvis, an advocate in TexPIRG’s Washington, D.C. office. “From hurricanes to terrorism, refineries pose significant risks to our communities and it’s time we act now to prevent a disaster.”

TexPIRG has called on Sen. Susan Collins (Maine), who is investigating our nation’s response to the hurricanes, to back legislation requiring refineries to use these kinds of inherently safer technologies. This could eliminate the risk these facilities pose to surrounding communities and prevent future industrial disasters.