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EPA Orders Motiva to Clean Up, Monitor Acid Tanks

Release Date: 8/1/2001
Contact Information: David Sternberg, (215) 814-5548

David Sternberg, (215) 814-5548

PHILADELPHIA – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today ordered Motiva Enterprises to take several steps to protect public health and the environment from a sulfuric acid spill resulting from a July 17, 2001 fire at Motiva’s Delaware City refinery.

Today’s unilateral order, issued after consultation with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources, requires Motiva to properly drain the remaining sulfuric acid from tanks near the fire location, to monitor wastewater for sulfuric acid discharges, and to provide EPA with a current inventory of all tanks at the refinery and their contents.

EPA also ordered Motiva to implement several long-term measures, including a detailed study of the extent of contamination from the release, removal and treatment of contaminated soil, and a rigorous tank inspection and repair program.

EPA Regional Administrator Donald S. Welsh, said: “EPA’s order will ensure that an effective cleanup occurs with appropriate oversight by environmental agencies. This order creates a legally enforceable basis for the cleanup, and we will continue to work closely with officials from Delaware to assure that the cleanup continues.”

The July 17 explosion and fire – which injured eight workers and left one worker still unaccounted for – destroyed one of six sulfuric acid storage tanks in a containment area in the northwestern portion of the refinery. (Sulfuric acid is used as part of the refining process for premium gasoline.) Adjacent sulfuric acid tanks were damaged, and two tanks leaked acid out of the containment area around the tank, passing through a sewage plant and into the Delaware River, killing an estimated 2400 fish and 240 blue crabs.

The order was issued under the Superfund statute, which authorizes EPA to respond to the release of hazardous substances.