Oil Industry Watching Philadelphia’s Move to Ban Toxic Chemical

Philadelphia leaders hope their attempt to ban hydrogen fluoride from oil refinery processes within city limits will spark other regulation of the chemical compound across the country. The city’s proposal comes after a fire and explosion at Philadelphia Energy Solutions’ Girard Point Refinery in June 2019, where 5,000 pounds of toxic hydrofluoric acid—a mixture of hydrogen fluoride (HF) and water—was released. No workers or residents were hurt, though the company has since closed permanently and a court recently approved PES’s bankruptcy filings.