Socialist Action /April 1999
PROFITS VS. THE PLANET
by Roland Sheppard
Big Oil's Killing Fields
We reported last month on the Feb. 23 disaster at the Tosco Avon Refinery
in Martinez, Calif., in which four oil workers were killed in a ball of
fire due to company neglect. Following the blast, and under pressure from
environmental groups, Tosco agreed to shut down the refinery.
Immediately after the shutdown, the San Francisco Bay Area TV, radio
and press announced that gasoline prices were going to rise in the Bay Area
because the Tosco closing would cause a significant decline in production.
This boost in what were already the highest gasoline prices in the nation
was made despite the fact that there are many other refineries in the Bay
Area.
The big business media has neglected to point out, however, that Tosco
revealed plans to shut down the refinery well before the latest disaster.
The Dec. 1, 1998, New York Times, under the headline "Tosco
to Close Refinery Units," reported:
"The Tosco Corporation said today that it would close units at a
San Francisco-area refinery, cut an unspecified number of jobs and take
a $40 million pretax charge against fourth-quarter earnings to cover the
reorganization cost....
"The units will be shut down at the 160,000-barrel-a-day Avon refinery,
one of three in Northern California that are part of Tosco's San Francisco
Area refinery complex. Tosco said it was integrating the operations of the
three refineries and increasing production of less polluting gasoline for
the California market."
This earlier statement by Tosco refutes the current propaganda that lack
of production capacity has driven up gasoline costs. It also demonstrates
how the oil companies, acting as a monopoly, can use their alleged concern
for the environment to justify ripping us off.
At the same time, Tosco's statement was an implied threat that if we
force the oil monopoly to be safer they will charge us for it.
From Tosco's point of view they had no need to replace or repair faulty
valves and other equipment-a factor that led to the death of the four workers-since
the plant would soon be closed.
It appears that Tosco will further profit from these deaths (corporate
murders) by avoiding the severance pay liabilities they would have to pay
if they had closed the refinery down on their own initiative. They are even
backing down on their initial claims to pay the workers while they shut
the plant down.
These actions by the oil companies demonstrate what is wrong with capitalism
and the profit motive.
These companies are among the richest in the world, yet they are constantly
working to increase profits. Since the beginning of the 1980s, they have
cut back the workforce and forced workers to work longer hours at the expense
of health and safety.
Refinery accidents have been increasing at an alarming rate in Contra
Costa County, where Tosco is located.
In July 1997, KPIX, a local television station reported: "A new
study released on Tuesday may leave East Bay residents who live near refineries
a bit unsettled. The study shows the rate of major toxic accidents in Contra
Costa County has nearly doubled in the last year, averaging one accident
every five weeks. The study also revealed that major refinery accidents
have killed 24 people and caused hundreds of illnesses and injuries over
the past eight years."
These increases in accidents will only add to the high cancer rates and
other diseases (childhood leukemia) associated with oil refineries.
Basically, these refineries are killing fields. Death and pestilence
are factored into production the same as casualties of war are factored
into military battles.
The fight for a safe workplace and a safe environment is a struggle for
human rights. The rights of these workers and the community to life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness should have top priority over the oil companies'
rights to produce profits and pollution.
These polluters (corporate looters) should be taxed 100 percent until
they stop polluting workers inside and outside the refineries! The fines
should be used to clean up the environment and to pay the workers for any
lost time.
...
Chevron Refinery Explodes
On March 25, disaster came again to Contra Costa County. Part of the
Chevron refinery in Richmond, Calif., exploded, sending a black cloud over
the neighborhood. Nearby hospitals reported that hundreds of people came
in with breathing problems.
The next day, Henry Clark of the West County Toxics Coalition told a
San Francisco Socialist Action forum: "We are in a state of environmental
emergency in Contra Costa County.
"Management [of the oil companies] endangers the lives of workers
and the community in its mad rush for profits."
Socialist Action /April 1999 |