What is Xylene, and What Does it Mean for Puget Sound?
A chemical you've never heard of is bound for Washington's waters.
....At its Anacortes Refinery, oil company Tesoro is now investing $400 million on facility upgrades that will allow it to produce mixed xylene for export to Asia at a rate of 15,000 barrels per day. That represents about 12.5 percent of the refinery’s total crude capacity and about 9 percent of total US xylene production capacity, most of which is currently in Gulf Coast states. In order to produce xylene for export at Anacortes, Tesoro will have to build a new xylene extraction unit capable of recovering xylene from petrochemical feedstock produced by refineries in Washington and California. In anticipation of what may be a large construction project, Tesoro is looking to expand its onsite infrastructure. In fact, Skagit County recently approved Tesoro’s plan to more than double the size of its existing parking lot (from 500 spaces to 1,350 spaces), expanding it 135 feet into a shoreline buffer zone.
According to Tesoro, the global xylene market is growing about 5 percent to 7 percent annually, primarily driven by demand in Asia. In addition, one industry journal notes that “because [xylene] production uses refinery-produced reformate, which is otherwise used for gasoline production, the shift could also ease what refiners consider an oversupplied US west coast gasoline market.”....
.... There is some reason to worry about Tesoro’s ability to handle xylene production appropriately. Sightline’s review of the company finds a checkered history, including persistent problems at the Golden Eagle Refinery in California (which would supply some of the reformate for xylene production), a deadly and much-criticized fire at the Anacortes Refinery, and a troubling pattern of withholding information from the public and regulators. read entire article here
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Numerous Safety Defects Found During NY's Crude Oil Rail Inspections
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Derailment raises safety concerns for Montgomery residents
CTV Saskatoon December 15, 2014
For many people in Saskatoon's Montgomery Place and Fairhaven
neighbourhoods a weekend train derailment and disruptions were the final
straw.
Both CN and CP trains run in the area and residents say they're fed up and want changes made before a more serious incident happens.
Five CN railcars carrying grain derailed Friday night near 11th Street. No one was injured but the cars spilled some of the grain they were carrying.....
....The next morning Marilyn Person sighted the wreckage from her balcony next to the tracks. Person says she sees trains running here day and night, often hauling oil tanker cars......
"Oh, it’s scary if there were tanker cars. That’s what my neighbours and me are always talking about," she said..... read more here
That caused three coal cars in a 100-car CSX train to derail about 3:30 a.m. Monday, dumping coal into nearby Stoner Creek, officials said.
No injuries were reported, but Paris officials are concerned that a sewer line might have been damaged in the crash.
Two cars went into the water, one striking a dam. The third car remained partially on the tracks in a precarious position. One car was upside down.... read more here
Both CN and CP trains run in the area and residents say they're fed up and want changes made before a more serious incident happens.
Five CN railcars carrying grain derailed Friday night near 11th Street. No one was injured but the cars spilled some of the grain they were carrying.....
....The next morning Marilyn Person sighted the wreckage from her balcony next to the tracks. Person says she sees trains running here day and night, often hauling oil tanker cars......
"Oh, it’s scary if there were tanker cars. That’s what my neighbours and me are always talking about," she said..... read more here
Train derailment in Paris dumps coal into Stoner Creek
A train wreck Monday morning in downtown Paris [ Ky.] apparently occurred when a hillside under the tracks gave way, authorities said.That caused three coal cars in a 100-car CSX train to derail about 3:30 a.m. Monday, dumping coal into nearby Stoner Creek, officials said.
No injuries were reported, but Paris officials are concerned that a sewer line might have been damaged in the crash.
Two cars went into the water, one striking a dam. The third car remained partially on the tracks in a precarious position. One car was upside down.... read more here
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