The Community Labor Refinery Tracking Committee, Clean Water Fund, and more than thirty other civic, faith and environmental groups are calling on the Sunoco refinery to phase out their use of the deadly chemical Hydrogen Fluoride (HF). Hydrogen Fluoride is used in the production of high-octane gasoline. The Sunoco refinery in Philadelphia uses and stores 400,000 pounds of the substance at their facility.

HF poses an extreme danger to refinery workers and the surrounding communities because if released, it forms a dense, ground hugging cloud that can travel for over 5 miles before dissipating. Effects of exposure range from skin burns and damage to eyes to heart failure, bone liquefying and even death. There are 3.9 million people that live within a 25-mile radius of the refinery that could be potentially impacted by a release. “When this many lives are at risk, it is Sunoco’s responsibility to take every possible step to reduce the hazard to the community,” said Joanne Rossi, President of the Community Labor Refinery Tracking Committee.

In the past the only alternative was sulfuric acid, an extremely toxic chemical in its own right. However, recent technology has emerged that allows HF to be modified so that it remains in a gel-like state, reducing its ability to form an aerosol and move into the community if it were to be released. This modified version of HF is now being used at refineries such as the Woods Cross Refinery in Utah and the Torrance Refinery in California.

“No one looks forward to working with hazardous chemicals. Anything that can be done to make the workplace safer for the sake of Sunoco’s employees should be done” said Barbara Rahke of the Philadelphia area Project on Occupational Safety and Health (PhilaPOSH), an organization consisting of unions, health and legal professionals working together for a safe and protected workplace supports the switch to a safer chemical.

Clean Water Fund has provided organizational assistance to the Community Labor Refinery Tracking Committee for over a decade. “We can add more security and build higher fences, but at the end of the day, you can’t predict accidents or acts of terrorism. The only way to eliminate the risk is to eliminate the chemical,” said Christine Knapp of Clean Water Fund.