re no remediation occurs. After being offloaded, the oil is soon refined. This process involves the heating of the crude oil in large tanks where the oil is settled into layers of different products. The heating of an already combustible material has its inherent dangers. To further refine the products, the use of caustic chemicals is a common practice. Once the chemical compounds are separated, they are transported once again. This opens up another risk of spilling, fire, and environmental problems. Now once delivered to the gas stations, the consumer, mainly you, pumps gasoline into you car. The reason gasoline is used is the combustibility factor, that is its high ignition speed. So essentially, you have just filled your car with about 15 gallons of explosive liquid. This is a danger to the consumer in the fact that automobiles have defects, that go many years undiscovered. In the early 1960’s it took 3 years for the Ford motor corporation to realize the defects in the Mustangs fuel tanks and correct them. These fuel tanks were mounted behind the rear seat, and even in minor collisions, the tanks had a tendency to leak, if not explode or catch fire. As many as 50 people lost their lives in accidents like this. Oil may come from nature, but that does not mean that it cannot harm humans. Oil is nothing more than millennia old plant and animal remains. Buried over time under heat and pressure, these remains change in chemical structure. These new chemicals are what raises the flash point. But also some of the chemicals cause cancers in humans. Chemicals like benzene and toluene are two very toxic chemicals that are not only carcinogens, but can cause reproductive harm, and other genetic damage. As can be seen, the dangers and harm that may come from the uses of oil can far outweigh the positive good it brings to society. It is the workers and the environment that are in the most danger, not the everyday consumer. So h...
