Shown here is Trans-Mountain’s oil dock at Barnet, adjoining the Shell refinery between Capitol Hill and Westridge. storage tanks but still perilously close to homes. Indiana oil refinery disaster could have occurred in Burnaby When an explosien occurred in the new hydro-former cracking unit of Standard Oil’s it set fire to the surrounding residential . pieces of steel, killing a three-year old boy in his bed. The fire raged for three days before it was brought under control and by that time 70 huge cil storage tanks had been destroyed or severly damaged and an estimated 1600 people had been driven from their homes, which in many instances were badly damaged—one store was SO completely destroyed ‘that not a 1600-acre oil refinery at Whiting, Indiana, on’ August 27, “tank farm.” Exploding oil ‘tanks bombarded the nearby trace of it remained. In North Burnby a similar disaster potential has béen created’ by allowing Shell and Standard Oil companies to expand their original small cracking plants established in resi- Shell Oil is only two blocks from Capitol Hill elementary school and it is now building a storage tank only half a block from the closest home. For these reasons, Harold Castle’s report from Whiting has a particular interest for dential areas inte major refineries. Greater Vancouver. . As at Whiting, Shell’s cracking unit is in the centre of the tank farm. Standard’s cracking plant, on the West side of Capitol Hill, is farther away from its main areas with heavy By HAROLD CASTLE WHITING steel and fire would have been What was the responsibility of at a much greater distance from Standard for the Whiting dis-| ‘the oil tanks and especially from aster? . | adjacent homes. In the first place, to save | The Eisenhower administra- money, Standard built its crack-| tion itself bears a heavy respon- ing units right in the tank fields sibility, for it had to. approve and directly off Indianapolis the plans to build the hydroformer Boulevard. These highly dang-/at its present site in the midst erous units are “right across the of the tank fields. street” from homes! | A second responsibility of Obviously, they should all be| taken out of that area and mov- ed to the Lake Michigan area, which is about a half a mile away. But that would necessi- tate Standard spending millions} s of dollars to make the changes. In the beginning, it would have meant a great deal of expense in the extension of the water intake system construction, for bringing water to the “units” at the lake. Had the units been construct- ed at the lake, the showering Standard Oil lay in its failure {to build concrete walls around ‘the tank farms. Such walls would have prevented the burn- ing oil, in case of fires, from pilling over on the boulevard and into the sewers. But Standard didn’t build them—because it would cost too much money. A third responsibility lay in Standard’s failure to encase its pipelines in concrete casings. This would have prevented the seepage of oil over a wide area. It would also have contained the fire and explosion to a greater extent. But it would have cost this profit - swollen mmOnppoly. more money! Cars on Indianapolis. Boulevard (the pipelines run right under it) were hurled imto the air and; landed on the roof tops of homes | —another example of how for- tunate it was that the death toll was not far higher. The workers out here refer to the highway along whfch these units and tank farms are built as “atomic highway.” It is Route 12-20, the ‘main high- way into Chicago. What callousness on the part of these oil monopolies — and their government —- to permit such an “atomic” hazard to con- tinue to exit on this highway, without the least precaution tak- en to safeguard the lives and homes of the people. positive program Douglas wants wheat session ES) An immediate emergency session: of the federal parlia to deal with the crisis created by the piling up of mil REGINA ment lions © of bushels of unsold wheat on the prairies has been deman by Saskatchewan Premier T. C. Douglas. Mountains of farm-stored wheat, plugged gran elevators, strangulation of the grain trade, the loss of t markets to other countries and inaction by Ottawa wl in a staggering two-billion-bushei stockpile of all grains by the end of the current crop year. Douglas’ speech was given little publicity in the east, but his call for a special session of parliament struck home’ among wheatgrowers. He appealed to the people of the prairie provinces to speak up for action and end a silence that courts disaster, for Canada’s farmers. . His address, broadcast through- out the province on September 28, urged a three-point plan to tackle the “crisis: c) Gditne of the federal parlia- ment into emergency session to empower the Canadian Wheat Board to give cash advances for at least 75 percent of the initial payment of all farm-stored grain. @‘Ploughing back of 25 per- cent of the arms budget ($500 million) into buying agricul- tural surpluses and making gifts to countries in need. “It would: do more to establish peace and! good will in the world than all: By WILLIAM BEREZOWSKI SASKATOON Faced with one of the greatest wheat gluts in history, delegates to the Saskatoon Wheat Con- ference, sponsored by the Inter- provincial Farm Union Council and representing provincial spokesmen from various organi-. in the three prairie provinces, including the Wheat Pools, co-ops, farm unions, Chambers of Commerce, Associa- tion of Rural Municipalities, trade unions and the govern- ments. of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, called upon the federal government, to adopt a more in promoting the disposal of Camadian grain zations , without price-cutting. A five-point resolution urted: @® Where necessary, credits be extended and other reliable currencies be taken in order to facilitate sales. © Barter trading be used, where necessary, providing such goods are not “dumped” thus aries and ‘raditiona i] result ic the tanks, guns and som , bombs we will ever bule Douglas asserted. pay” @ Acceptance of partial ment for wheat in the curr of other countries. Canada wou a use these currencies to purchesy goods in such countries. encies d Douglas sharply cond el federal inaction on the whea up. He urged that “Western Can- ada speak with one voice an demand that parliament be a 7 led into session to immediate ; deal with a situation which c been too long neglected. | Ake) 8 main silent is to court disaster: Rapping Trade Minister C., Di Howe for his misplaced OP be ism last July that z would é easy to dispose -Canadiat grain, he said. “We ~~ be give’ i” more soothing assurances af fall regarding the wheat situ tion. The time has come, }° ever, not for assurance action.” : Bae Seek federal action lowering the living standards : of Canadian workers. @ Canada participate i2 be mine relief programs WH such are needed. pro- .dele- where © An aggressive sales motion by way of trade’ gations to every place potential markets exist. ® Scientific research t : other profitable uses of wh®4 As he spoke Chris Hanso”, ee sident of the SFU waved 4 § oy of letters and resolutions Ba farm union locals, wheat rt 5 committees and municipal ee ib- cils across the province oes nell ing the serious situation in + communities and demant | action, for cash through ade payments and for the institu ve of an immediate aggres> re trade policy to dispose of ae wheat surplus. j, E Sponsored by President +: ain Brownlie, of United Gt nce Growers Company the confere passed a resolution conde neh U.S. wheat “dumping” oe a policy of subsidized expol”’ 0 find COME YOUNG FOLK, COME OLD FOLK COME EVERYBODY, COME! DANCE Be sure to check your atom bombs With the usher at the door, And you will hear some peace stories Youw’ve never heard before. SMORGASBORD FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21 - 8 P.M. CIVIC R ECEPTION IN HONOR OF BEN SHEK | cates, Canadian Delegation to the World Youth Festival, held in Warsaw: PENDER AUDITORIUM - $1.00 | ———— PACIFIC TRIBUNE — OCTOBER 14, 1955 — PAGE