WHITING, Ind. (CBS) — Neighbors living near the BP refinery in Whiting, Indiana, called Tuesday night for more transparency from the oil giant.
They said a leak last Christmas made some of them sick. While local officials assure neighbors that everything is safe, they also agree that communication could be better.
A meeting between BP and residents took place on Monday. CBS News Chicago was excluded from the meeting.
But Whiting Mayor Steve Spebar was at the meeting and said the leak started in what is known as the Indiana Tank Field — with a quarter-sized hole that went unnoticed until enough of the odor was collected.
The odor was eventually strong enough to raise concerns as it spread into downtown Chicago. Addressing Whiting City Council almost two weeks after the leak, residents were still upset by the lack of communication.
“We are not being told accurate information, or any information at all,” one woman, Kim, told the council.
“I don’t know what else to do but come here and beg you to do something about it,” said resident Grace Tafolla.
Mayor Spebar acknowledged that BP told area leaders about the leak, but a message with that information never went out on their Smart 911 system.
“If the province doesn’t designate it as dangerous, that’s the problem now: you’re not notified about it,” Spebar said.
Carolyn Marsh, co-manager of the BP and Whiting Watch Facebook group, was not satisfied with this explanation.
“They keep apologizing and saying it’s a work in progress: the reporting system. Well, the factory has been around for 135 years,” she said. “It seems to me that you should be able to get a notification.
Some residents said they are experiencing the number of problems at the home BP factory increases – points to February 2024when a power outage forced workers to evacuate, light up the stacksand burn the remaining fuel and relieve the pressure.
CBS News Chicago found that the BP Whiting facility had three complaints with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in 2024. Two are closed, while one from October is still open.
But neighbors say the December leak has affected their health.
“It made us both physically sick,” said Alexis Spencer, who lives near the refinery. “Like we were here, gagging, throwing up, everything.”
For now, Spencer and her fiancé, Marvin Leavy, can see the refinery from her front door.
“At the end of the day, everyone has to live somewhere and stuff like that,” Leavy said, “so we’re just trying to make the best of it, you know what I mean, until I can. go somewhere else.”
Residents at that meeting also said they were concerned about plans for a new pipeline project called the “hydrogen hub.” But the mayor said he believes the project is being held up and won’t move forward this year.
