Oil refinery releases toxic chemicals

An incident at an oil refinery in the State of New Jersey and Salem has resulted in toxic chemicals being released into the air.

A fire in a transformer and the resulting power losses caused part of the Delaware City Refinery to shut down on Sunday (November 27th) which triggered the emergency use of open-air, high-level incineration "flare" towers.

While no injuries were reported, the flares released unknown amounts of hazardous toxic chemicals into the air, including sulfur dioxide, however, the venting is usually used to prevent damage, which could lead to major oil spills.

According to NJ.com, Salem County officials were unaware of the incident.

"I am appalled and dismayed that the State of Delaware chose not to follow protocol during this incident by submitting a report to the State of New Jersey and Salem County Office of Emergency Management," County administrator Earl R Gage told the source.

"We knew nothing about the release of toxic chemicals."

The news follows an announcement by Aden oil refinery in Yemen will be halting production due to a lack of supplies.

Posted by Joseph Hutton