Jaye Yoder: This petroleum coke is a high-carbon, high-sulfur byproduct of Canadian tar sands that are shipped from Alberta to Detroit to be refined. The uncovered black pile began building up along the river this year and drew outrage from residents of Detroit and nearby Windsor, Ontario as it grew to over three stories high and a block long!! Produced by Marathon Refinery owned by Koch Carbon - controlled by Charles and David Koch — not only poses a serious risk to nearby air and water supplies, but the product can be used as a cheaper — dirtier — alternative to coal. Most power plants in the U.S. and Canada won’t burn pet-coke due to the high level of greenhouse gas emissions, the companies often ship the waste product to countries with looser emissions restrictions, such as China and India. The dangers of petroleum coke — both as a waste product gathering in communities and as an extremely dirty energy source — will only be compounded as increasing amounts of Canadian tar sands are brought into the U.S. to be refined. If, for example, the Obama administration approves the controversial Keystone XL pipeline and facilitates the transport of more tar sands into the country, it will exponentially increase the amount of pet-coke building up around the refineries — leaving cities like Detroit wondering what to do with the mess it leaves behind.
Posted on: Thu, 01 Aug 2013 19:24:47 +0000
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