Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro and 12 other state attorneys general sent a letter Monday to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency urging it to scrap a proposed rollback of an accident prevention rule in light of the most recent revelation about the blast at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery earlier this year. The explosion released […]
News Archive
Welcome to the Fluoride Action Network News Archive. The FAN News Archive serves as an historical repository for fluoride news stories, positive or negative. Since FAN catalogs all news stories on fluoride, our news section remains a reliable database of all published fluoride news.
Our news database is categorized by country, state/province, and industry. This collection of articles is constantly being updated with the most recent global news on fluoride-related issues and events.
EDITORIAL: Philly refinery blast left behind a cloud of questions
No one ever wants to read the headline, “Hydrofluoric acid cloud kills thousands in Philadelphia refinery blast.” According to an investigation from the Chemical Safety Board (CSB) released last week, that headline came closer to reality than we should ever have to contemplate. The CSB reported that 5,000 pounds of lethal hydrofluoric acid was released […]
Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery explosion hurled 38,000-pound piece of shrapnel across Schuylkill River
NBC10 Philadelphia/CBS.GOV A video still from NBC10 of the V-1 explosion that occurred at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery on June 21. The explosion that destroyed the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery in June was so powerful it launched a 38,000-pound piece of equipment across the width of the Schuylkill River, according to a report released […]
For South Philly residents, new report on refinery explosion prompts more health worries
The thick black smoke over her South Philadelphia neighborhood was enough to make Carol White feel as if she couldn’t breathe. She never had asthma or respiratory issues, but the June 21 explosion at the refinery near her home sent her to the emergency room. White, 60, said she still has chest pains, headaches and […]
S. Philly refinery blast released 5,000 pounds of a deadly chemical [Hydrofluoric acid]
Philadelphia dodged several potential catastrophes during a dramatic June 21 refinery blast, which released about 5,239 pounds of a deadly chemical and launched pieces of shrapnel as large as a truck hurtling across the 1,300-acre refinery complex, according to federal findings released Wednesday. The disaster at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions complex began with the early […]
Wisconsin refinery that was site of explosion plans rebuild
SUPERIOR, Wis. — Husky Energy says it’s been given approval to rebuild its oil refinery in Superior, Wisconsin after an explosion and a series of fires last year injured 36 people and required much of the city to evacuate. Husky, which does business as Superior Refining Company in Wisconsin, said it will start the $400 […]
Philly Fire Department personnel no longer at PES refinery site 24/7
Philadelphia Energy Solutions Refinery on August 8, 2019. (Bastiaan Slabbers for WHYY) The site of a refinery explosion and fire that rocked South Philadelphia in June and led to the refinery’s shutdown is now under control. That means Philadelphia Fire Department personnel will no longer remain on site 24/7. Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel said Tuesday […]
Long Beach Supervisor strongly dissents to refineries continued use of Modified Hydrofluoric Acid (MHF)
In an abrupt conclusion to an issue covered in detail in multiple stories by LBREPORT.com, the governing board of the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) voted 8-3 on Sept. 6 — with L.A. County Supervisor Janich Hahn strongly dissenting (AUDIO below) to approve a proffer by the Valero Wilmington and Torrance (ToRC) refineries […]
More safety measures chosen over phase-out of toxic gas at two South Bay refineries
Supervisor Hahn condemns the move; refinery officials applaud the decision. The region’s air-quality watchdog voted Friday to accept an unsolicited offer of increased safety enhancements at the two South Bay refineries that use modified hydrofluoric acid, saying that doing so would be the most “expeditious” method of implementing them. That brings an abrupt end to […]
Potential political showdown over refinery chemical looms at Friday air quality meeting
In this Feb. 17 photo, nearly 300 Torrance residents march in support of a ban on a toxic chemical used at the Torrance refinery. (Photo by Scott Varley, Contributor) In return, the refineries have offered to voluntarily install additional safety measures they contend will offer the surrounding communities “unprecedented additional layers of protection.” The governing […]