ExxonMobil’s Baton Rouge oil refinery had 193 accidental discharges last year, according to a new report by the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, an environmental health and justice group that created a database of such incidents in the state. More than 1.45 million pounds of material leaked in the local accidents last year, the data shows. “They’re huge. They’re the second-biggest refinery in the country,” says Anne Rolfes, the group’s director. “Even with that size, they have a pretty inordinate number of accidents.”
Local ExxonMobil spokesman George Pietrogallo says the database contains self-reported information. “We take every single environmental incident very seriously, and we investigate each one to ensure that we understand the root cause so that we can improve our operation,” he says. Read the full version of this story here. Check out the database here.—Todd R. Brown
