Suncor discharging “forever chemicals” into Sand Creek and the South Platte River, enviro report saysA three-month closure in Commerce City likely would cost the company $300 million, Kimmel said. But in the third quarter of 2022, the company’s earnings were about $4 billion.
“Suncor has all the reason in the world to invest in that refinery and keep it reliable,” Kimmel said.to an average performer, citing the Colorado refinery’s shutdown signals operational challenges within the company. The report said Suncor’s “cultural challenges to embrace safety and available uptime run deeper than a new CEO or modest restructuring of the company’s operations.”
Even though weather forecasts predicted rapidly dropping temperatures that reach subzero, there’s not a lot Suncor employees could do in advance to prevent damages, Kimmel and Jechura, the Mines professor, said.Jechura said the swift and severe drop in temperatures on Dec. 21 may have caused problems at Suncor. Frozen pipes certainly would cause production to stop.
Since Suncor has not disclosed what equipment might have been damaged or which parts of the refinery might be undergoing maintenance, it’s hard to predict exactly how long restoring the plant to full operating capacity will take. Meanwhile, the repairs and maintenance will make the Suncor campus a busy place. People and vehicles will be coming and going. Steam will be rising from machinery. And flames will continue to shoot from smokestacks.Pollution won’t pause
“Flares at a refinery are usually for an emergency and non-normal operations where you cannot contain what you make,” Jechura said.Since Dec. 21, Suncor has filed 10 notices with the state Air Pollution Control Division to report that it has exceeded limits set in a permit regulating the plant’s emissions. All the reports said the releases started on Dec. 21 and all listed the end date as ongoing.released is still under evaluation, according to the malfunction reports.
It’s not a secret that Denver gas prices shot up again.
Equally concerning to me (and admittedly perhaps due to said secrecy) is the lack of reporting about the folks who work there getting injured. Why it's almost as if reporters value climate activists over the people who work hard to make sure we have fuel to run our world.
Dude I just tweeted y’all they haven’t shut down… come just sit anywhere east of there and you know they’re still burning stuff off (illegally)