The Detroit refinery is a key part of the petrochemical industry, and is serving a critical role in the fight against COVID-19. Here’s a video taht describes the central role of petrochemicals in health care, and why the petrochemical industry is considered critical infrastructure.
At Marathon Petroleum, our priority is to protect our employees, contractors and the communities we serve as we continue providing the fuels and other products that are essential to keeping us all safe.
Marathon Petroleum has had a pandemic response plan in place for many years. Since January, as the COVID-19 outbreak has spread, we have reviewed and updated our plan, guided by global health experts including the Centers for Disease Control, the World Health Organization, local health authorities, and state and federal governments.
Additionally, Marathon Petroleum is promoting proven personal hygiene practices to employees, including frequent handwashing, covering coughs and sneezes and minimizing physical contact where possible. As many U.S. states have implemented “social distancing” measures to reduce the probability of spreading the virus from otherwise healthy people to those most at risk, Marathon Petroleum has introduced remote working programs; limited attendance and duration of meetings; restricted visitors at our facilities; and actively encouraged employees to avoid large crowds and unnecessary physical contact. Other company policies have been updated to reflect the changing work environment and to accommodate the needs of our employees.
Other measures in place have included targeted travel restrictions; self-quarantine guidelines; additional cleaning protocols; business-continuity plans to accommodate staffing needs in the event of illness-related absenteeism; working with critical suppliers to ensure ongoing support in the event of illness-related disruptions; providing additional hand-sanitizers at owned-and-operated retail stores; and communicating frequently to all employees regarding the risks of COVID-19, and mitigation steps they should take to protect themselves and others.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic Marathon Petroleum donated personal protective equipment to local healthcare providers This donation included nearly 40,000 masks to local and regional Michigan hospitals, including Beaumont Health System, Wayne Campus, Henry Ford Hospital, Beaumont Children’s Hospital and the Helen DeVoss Children’s Hospital.
Additionally, the Detroit refinery made a $5,000 donation to the to Detroit Public Safety Foundation to assist the needs of DPD and DFD during this unpreceded time. And a $5,000 donation has been made to the Detroit Area Salvation Army so they can continue their valuable work in the face of COVID-19.
The energy industry is critical to the nation’s infrastructure and the Detroit refinery is maintaining production capabilities. We are necessarily exempt from some state and local restrictions in order to ensure this service and have implemented other measures at our facilities to protect our employees, contractors and the communities we serve. We continue to monitor the latest local and national developments regarding COVID-19 and adjust our response to the situation daily, as events warrant.
Please stay safe and healthy,
Dave Leaver,
General Manager
Detroit Refinery
Marathon Petroleum’s Detroit Refinery is home to a world-class Petroleum Coke Processing unit that allows for the safe, efficient and clean use during the refining process. Learn more about this state-of-the-art facility, and how we eliminate fugitive dust through this informational video. Below are options in English, Spanish and Arabic:
English
Spanish
Arabic
Marathon was proud to sponsor the Detroit Regional Chamber Policy Conference. It was an opportunity to be part of meaningful change in our City. We also shared a video highlighting the changes we’ve made at our Detroit refinery to reduce emissions by 80%
Health concerns like cancer and asthma, and discussions about air quality, are important. These are matters that profoundly affect people’s lives, and they must be characterized by facts. Unfortunately, the Detroit Metro Times article, “Struggling to breathe in 48217, Michigan’s most toxic ZIP code” by Steve Neavling contains so many inaccuracies, omissions and misstatements, including several about Marathon Petroleum, that it does much more harm than good.
Marathon Petroleum has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in its refinery to reduce emissions, and we have reduced our emissions more than 75% over the last 20 years. We operate more cleanly today than ever before, and we’re proud to be a responsible neighbor in the Southwest Detroit community.
I can tell you that we strive daily to be open, honest and transparent. We talk often about the efforts we have made to lower our emissions because we are proud of what we have accomplished, proud of having been part of Detroit for the last 60 years and proud to be producing motor fuel for the Motor City.
We’ve welcomed members of the community, elected officials and the media to come to our site, ask questions and see for themselves the efforts that we are making daily to not just run our refinery well, but to lower our impact to the community from an air and water perspective. At the same time, we are increasing our impact on the community in a positive fashion by the many, many outreach initiatives that we support. We continue to look for ways to make a bigger impact in the community with a goal of really making a difference in the lives of the children and families who live near the plant. These efforts are actively supported by employees across our operation.
The issues Mr. Neavling raises in his article are serious. They are critical to the quality of life in Southwest Detroit, and they are matters Marathon Petroleum has been engaged with for many years. A journalist who wants to shed light on such serious matters should portray an accurate representation of reality, rather than a skewed narrative that fits his preconceived notions.
The Detroit refinery has been in its current location since 1930, and Marathon Petroleum has owned it since 1959. We don’t claim to be perfect, but the employees of this site and the company work daily to ensure the site is operated in compliance with all requirements. When unexpected events happen, we work to ensure they don’t happen again because we take seriously our commitments to the communities within which we operate, work and live. We’re proud of our record of emissions reductions, and we’re proud of our role in the neighborhood as a supporter of schools, youth activities, and charities that make our community better. We hope that our neighbors won’t be misled by articles like the one published by the Metro Times. We also hope that the Metro Times will provide accurate and balanced reporting in the future and give us an opportunity to respond to our neighbors, who have legitimate, important concerns.
On the morning of Tuesday, November 19, the Detroit Refinery will conduct a mustering drill for all employees and contractors. As such, you may notice people briefly lined-up outside our gates. This is only a drill.
Safety is one of Marathon Petroleum’s highest priorities, and we conduct regular training to ensure constant readiness.
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