Cancer-causing benzene still flows from PES refinery complex
2 years ago The South Philadelphia refinery has a long history dating back to the Civil War era, when it was built as Atlantic Refining Co. Gulf Oil opened a neighboring facility in 1926, and the two operations were bought by Sunoco in 1988 and 1994, respectively. The complex grew to be the largest refiner on the East Coast and leaves an equally large legacy of pollution, both in the soil and the water table. Facing bankruptcy, Sunoco formed a joint partnership with the Carlyle Group to create Philadelphia Energy Solutions in 2012. The company entered bankruptcy in 2018, but the explosion and...