Tawney, Acosta & Chaparro represents families impacted by Marathon refinery incident
EL PASO, Texas — Two weeks after tons of pollutants emitted from the Marathon Petroleum Refinery in South-Central El Paso, impacted residents still seek answers. Tawney, Acosta & Chaparro P.C. announced it’s representing several families affected by the reported incidents.
The firm is also looking into whether the surrounding community was impacted.
According to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the refinery released thousands of pounds of pollutants during two incidents between Aug. 4-5.
According to the TCEQ reports, a process upset and shutdown at the refinery resulted in emissions of 8,897.9 pounds of propylene, 862 pounds of sulfur dioxide and 19.1 pounds of 1,3-butadiene.
TAC said the emissions totaled “well above the refinery’s permitted emission limits.”
However, in a statement to ABC-7 from the Marathon Petroleum Corporation immediately following the leak on the 4th, they contradicted this report by stating the following:
Trained professionals at Marathon Petroleum’s El Paso refinery responded to reports of odors in the surrounding area last night. The source of the odor was identified and teams addressed the situation. Air monitoring was deployed in the community as a precaution, and did not detect any readings that indicate health risks.
Clients of TAC reported a strong gas or petroleum-like smell in the nearby neighborhoods — some even leaving their homes to avoid the smell. Some said they felt lightheaded and sick.
“We’re hearing from families who were there that night and were affected by what happened,” said Daisy Chaparro, a partner at TAC. “Now that the TCEQ reports are available, people have legitimate questions about what was released into their neighborhood and what it means for the families who were exposed.”
The law firm is still asking anyone who believes they were affected by the Aug. 4 incident to contact them. You can contact the partners at 915-308-1000.
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