News, Culture and NPR for Central & Northern Michigan

Refinery malfunction in Detroit raising calls for transparency from Marathon

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Flickr User Paul J Everett

State and local officials plan to meet with the operators of Detroit’s Marathon refinery again Tuesday to discuss a malfunction on Sunday that left part of the city smelling like “rotten eggs.”

Officials insist the emissions posed no health threats to the refinery’s neighbors, even though people claim the stench left them coughing, vomiting, and experiencing dizziness and headaches.

Resident Theresa Landrum doesn’t trust what she’s being told by Marathon or the federal EPA.

“How do they know?  Who was on the ground testing?  Who was there in the air testing?”

Landrum says there needs to be more transparency.

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“We don’t just want to see the company reporting to the MDEQ or the EPA.  They need to have full disclosure to the residents that are impacted by these emissions.”

Marathon plans to shut-down the refinery in the coming days to make repairs to the malfunctioning equipment.

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