In February 2021, Limetree Bay Oil Refinery in the U.S. Virgin Islands reopened after being closed since 2018 over corroded pipes and bankruptcy issues. When the refinery opened, multiple malfunctions and disasters followed. With an explosion that sent multiple people to the hospital, also expelled an unaccountable amount of oil spray into the atmosphere. This oil mixed with the water droplets in the air and caused an unnatural phenomenon called oil rain. This oil rain came down on houses, cars, into water wells, animal feed supplies, water sources and caused countless contaminations across an impoverished area. Limetree investment environmental authorities went door to door offering $2,000.00 USD as a waiver for the community members to not sue. Those who did not take the money filed a class action lawsuit over the environmental disaster and temporarily shut down the refinery. This meant hundreds of lost jobs in this minority neighborhood causing a ripple in the already unstable financial structure of this community. Update: As of June 2021, the Limetree Bay facility has indefinitely shut down its St. Croix refinery.
English
Español
Français
Deutsch
Italiano
Português