“You’ve been exposed to a very high level, I’m incensed and angry that Shell let this happen. Shell is not interested in being your friend. They will do absolutely the minimum they are required to do.”

Parish will lose this case and pay a relatively small fine, but in situations like this it’s the workers that really lose. At place like Parish an employee who regularly clocks in to do his or her job could be rewarded with a debilitating and potentially fatal illness. Sadly this is not uncommon….

“The contamination is thought to stem from shell owned oil reserves operated on the land from the 1920′s to 1960′s. In those days, oil was stored in subterranean concrete lined tanks which today are illegal due to problems with leakage.”

Richard Czuprynski says that during his employment with KCS, he was exposed to benzene, xylene, toluene, mixed solvents and diesel exhaust (which also contains benzene and other chemicals).

Old underground gas storage tanks put people at risk of exposure to benzene and other carcinogens. As these tanks deteriorate, they release their content into the ground, threatening to poison ground water, and drinking water wells. According to a 2005 Sierra Club report, in 2005 the U.S. had 680,000 leaking underground storage tanks, with about [...]

Two years ago, a massive plume of toxic chemicals was discovered beneath the site of a Sydney waterfront development. Now Australia’s tax payers face footing the $98m clean-up bill. Australia’s Environment Protection Authority just declared that chemical leaching of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, benzene and cyanide at the site poses "a significant risk of harm [...]

In the United States our way of life is made possible by petroleum products such as gasoline and oil. Indeed we would not be where we are today without oil, but what is the cost to the health of our nation? Considering that most of us are regularly exposed to gasoline vapors, should we accept [...]

U.S. Steel has just released the details of their plans to clean up an underground benzene plume that has been seeping into Lake Michigan from the company’s Gary Steel Works. Benzene levels in the groundwater were up to 600 times the federal drinking water limit. Though the exact source and of the benzene is difficult [...]

On Tuesday Stephen Colbert, the Comedy Central "news commentator" railed against a lake city man who filed a lawsuit saying that the city of Seattle must conduct an environmental review prior to it’s Fourth of July fire works show at the city’s Gas Works Park. Gas Works…ummm… Park? The area is a partially remediated toxic [...]

New York Senator Charles E. Schumer has written a letter to the owner of the Tonawana Coke Corperation strongly urging the company to take swift action to reduce harmful benzene emissions.  Schumer noted that the plant had reduced emissions of certain toxins, but said that "much more needs to be done to reduce the amount [...]