Petroleum Refinery Asbestos Exposure

The U.S. petroleum refining industry has historically employed substantial workforces in operating, maintaining, and rebuilding the most asbestos-intensive industrial facilities outside the steel industry. A typical large U.S. refinery (150,000 to 600,000 barrels per day crude oil processing capacity) operates with multiple process units running at elevated temperatures and pressures for sustained periods of 3-7 years between major turnaround maintenance cycles — during which the refinery employs 1,000-5,000 contract workers performing intensive asbestos disturbance work over 6-12 weeks.

Major U.S. petroleum refining companies of the asbestos era

  • Standard Oil family — Standard Oil of New Jersey (Exxon), Standard Oil of California (Chevron / SoCal), Standard Oil of Indiana (Amoco / BP), Standard Oil of Ohio (Sohio / BP), Mobil Oil (Standard Oil of NY successor)
  • Texaco
  • Gulf Oil
  • Phillips Petroleum / ConocoPhillips / Phillips 66
  • Sunoco / Sun Oil
  • Atlantic Richfield (ARCO) / BP
  • Marathon
  • Shell Oil
  • British Petroleum (BP)
  • Citgo
  • Valero
  • Murphy Oil
  • Tesoro / Andeavor / Marathon Petroleum
  • HollyFrontier / HF Sinclair
  • Independent and regional refiners

Major U.S. petroleum refining regions of the asbestos era

Gulf Coast

  • Houston Ship Channel — ExxonMobil Baytown, Shell Deer Park, LyondellBasell Houston, Pasadena, Marathon Texas City
  • Texas City — Marathon, BP/Citgo legacy
  • Beaumont/Port Arthur — ExxonMobil Beaumont, Motiva Port Arthur, Valero Port Arthur
  • Lake Charles LA — Phillips 66, Citgo, Calcasieu
  • Baton Rouge LA — ExxonMobil Baton Rouge (one of the largest U.S. refineries)
  • Norco LA — Shell Norco
  • Convent LA — Motiva Convent
  • Garyville LA — Marathon Garyville

Mid-Continent

  • Wood River IL — Phillips 66 Wood River
  • Robinson IL — Marathon Robinson
  • Joliet IL — ExxonMobil Joliet
  • Whiting IN — BP Whiting (one of the largest U.S. refineries, on Lake Michigan)
  • Detroit MI — Marathon Detroit
  • Ponca City OK — Phillips 66 Ponca City
  • Tulsa OK — HF Sinclair Tulsa

California

  • Richmond CA — Chevron Richmond (see deep-dive page)
  • El Segundo CA — Chevron El Segundo
  • Wilmington CA — Marathon Carson, Phillips 66 LA, Valero Wilmington
  • Torrance CA — PBF Torrance (see deep-dive page)
  • Martinez CA — Marathon Martinez, PBF Martinez (formerly Shell)
  • Benicia CA — Valero Benicia

East Coast

  • Marcus Hook PA — Monroe Energy, Sunoco
  • Philadelphia PA — Philadelphia Energy Solutions (closed 2019)
  • Trainer PA — Monroe Energy
  • Linden NJ — Phillips 66 Bayway
  • Paulsboro NJ — PBF Paulsboro
  • Delaware City DE — PBF Delaware City
  • Garyville LA — Marathon

Refinery asbestos exposure across all process units

Crude distillation units (CDU)

  • Asbestos refractory in fired-heater process furnaces (operating at 700-800°F)
  • Asbestos block insulation on heater shells, distillation column shells, side-stripper shells
  • Asbestos pipe insulation on hot crude transfer lines, overhead vapor lines, sidedraw lines, bottoms lines
  • Asbestos gaskets at every flange and bolted joint

Fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) units

  • Extensive asbestos refractory in FCC regenerator and reactor vessels (operating at 1300-1400°F+)
  • Asbestos refractory in FCC fractionator and slurry pumparound systems
  • Asbestos insulation on transfer lines, overhead vapor lines, and product cooler trains
  • FCC turnaround refractory rebuilds historically among the highest-fiber-release activities in U.S. industry

Hydrotreating, hydrocracking, alkylation, reforming units

  • High-temperature high-pressure process units (operating at 600-900°F, 1000-3000 psig+) with extensive asbestos insulation, gaskets, and packing
  • Reactor vessel insulation
  • Heat exchanger insulation
  • Compressor and pump insulation

Sulfur recovery and gas treating

  • Asbestos-bearing refractory in Claus process sulfur recovery reactors
  • Asbestos insulation on amine and SRU process equipment

Utility cogeneration plants

  • Process steam boilers — asbestos block insulation, pipe insulation, gaskets, refractory
  • Steam turbines for cogeneration electric power — asbestos lagging
  • Refinery electric distribution — asbestos-bearing switchgear and transformers

Worker populations exposed at U.S. refineries

  • Refinery operators and shift workers across crude distillation, FCC, hydrotreating, alkylation, reforming, sulfur recovery, utilities, and tank-farm operations
  • Refinery maintenance crews — pipefitters, millwrights, welders, electricians, instrument technicians, refractory masons, insulators
  • Turnaround contractors — typically 1,000-5,000 contract workers per major turnaround
  • Pipefitters (United Association locals nationwide)
  • Insulators (HFIAW locals nationwide)
  • Boilermakers (IBB locals nationwide)
  • Ironworkers, sheet metal workers, electricians, painters, laborers
  • Engineers, supervisors, and corporate staff — bystander exposure during plant walk-throughs
  • Office staff, lab technicians, security, and cafeteria personnel — bystander exposure to ambient air

If You Worked at a U.S. Petroleum Refinery

If you worked as a refinery operator, maintenance worker, turnaround contractor, trade-union contractor (insulator, pipefitter, boilermaker, ironworker, electrician), engineer, or in any other role at a U.S. petroleum refinery during the asbestos era — and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, or another asbestos-related illness — you may have legal rights.

Free, confidential case evaluation: Speak with O’Brien Law Firm — (314) 936-2956

All consultations are free. No fee unless a financial recovery is made on your behalf.