An aerial shot of the refinery on St. Croix's south shore. Photo Credit: V.I. CONSORTIUM
Port Hamilton Refining and Transportation announced late Friday that it has completed the removal of several hazardous chemicals from the refinery on St. Croix’s south shore.
Thousands of gallons of anhydrous ammonia, liquid petroleum gas and amine solution were found at the facility by Environmental Protection Agency inspectors last year. The agency said the dangerous chemicals were stored unsafely, in storage units that were heavily rusted. The situation risked the “imminent release of extremely hazardous substances,” according to a report filed by the EPA inspectors.
Port Hamilton was ordered to come up with a plan to safely remove the chemicals and ship them off-island, and that plan was approved this February. After months of work beginning in March, PHRT now reports that the anhydrous ammonia was completely removed from the facility on May 14, the liquid amines on June 22, and the LPG on July 21.
“With the collaboration of PHRT staff, contractors and participating agencies, the development, design, and execution of this chemical removal project over the past six months was not only safe and successful but on schedule,” said Fermin Rodriguez, PHRT vice president and refinery manager.
Now that the chemicals are off site, the EPA is no longer conducting its own air quality monitoring, however PHRT says it continues to keep an eye on sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide levels through its own off-site air monitoring stations – five of them distributed across the middle and western parts of St. Croix.
