This episode of Data Remediations features the voices of residents of South Philadelphia long site to what was, until it blew up last year, the world’s longest continuously operating petroleum refinery. Residents talk about life with the refinery, scientists and public health experts weigh in on the environmental and health impacts it has caused. In February, bankruptcy court approved the purchase-sale agreement of the massive site along Philadelphia’ rivers to a Chicago-based developer, Hilco, Earlier this month (April 2020), amidst a global pandemic and shelter in place orders, Hilco botched a demolition in Chicago and dust and debris settled across the local neighborhood. With Hilco’s plans largely unknown, Philadelphians are getting ready for a new chapter in the struggle for environmental justice.
Read MoreThis episode of Data Remediations features a special interview with Philadelphia-based documentary filmmaker, Bilal Motley. For nearly 15 years, Bilal worked in management at the Philadelphia refinery. He offers us a glimpse into the everyday world of a petroleum refinery, and we talk about what it was like to work there and how it felt to be there the night last June when it blew up and why he decided to put his filmmaking skills--and experiences as a stand-up comedian--to make a documentary about a really scary event.
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