Kerr-McGee
Encyclopedia
Oil exploration
Hydrocarbon exploration is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for hydrocarbon deposits beneath the Earth's surface, such as oil and natural gas...
and production of oil and gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
. On June 23, 2006, Houston-based Anadarko Petroleum Corporation
Anadarko Petroleum Corporation
Anadarko Petroleum Corporation is one of the world’s largest independent oil and gas exploration and production companies, with approximately 2.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent of proved reserves and production of 206 million BOE as of December 31, 2008. Anadarko employs a worldwide...
agreed to acquire Kerr-McGee in an all-cash transaction totaling $16.5 billion plus the assumption of $2.6 billion in debt. Kerr-McGee shareholders voted to approve the offer on August 10, 2006 and Kerr-McGee ceased to exist as an independent entity. As a result of the takeover, all operations (with the exception of Tronox
Tronox
Tronox, Inc. is an Oklahoma City based chemical company involved in the manufacture of titanium dioxide pigment.It was formerly the Kerr-McGee Chemical Corporation. .- History :...
which was spun off as a separate company in 2005) moved out of Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
.
History
Kerr-McGee was initially focused mostly on off-shore oil exploration and production, being one of the first companies to use drillshipDrillship
A drillship is a maritime vessel that has been fitted with drilling apparatus. It is most often used for exploratory offshore drilling of new oil or gas wells in deep water or for scientific drilling. The drillship can also be used as a platform to carry out well maintenance or completion work such...
s in the Gulf of Mexico, and later one of the first companies to use a Spar type platform in the area. With the acquisition of the Oryx Energy Company of Dallas, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
in 1999, Kerr-McGee gained more onshore assets, as well as significant assets in several foreign areas, most notably Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
and western Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
. Later acquisitions of HS Resources and Westport Resources Corp. established the base of operations in Denver, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
and added large resource areas throughout the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
.
Until 2005, Kerr-McGee had two major divisions: chemical and oil-related. On November 21, 2005, the chemical division of the company, based in Oklahoma City, was sold off by IPO as Tronox
Tronox
Tronox, Inc. is an Oklahoma City based chemical company involved in the manufacture of titanium dioxide pigment.It was formerly the Kerr-McGee Chemical Corporation. .- History :...
, thereby making Oklahoma City home to the administrative side of Kerr-McGee, while all exploration and production management was located in Denver and Houston.
United States
Main oil and gas operations in the US were the Mid-Continent, Rocky Mountains, onshore Louisiana,and offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. Main offices were located in downtown Denver and the Greenspoint area of Houston.Corporate headquarters were located in Downtown Oklahoma City
Downtown Oklahoma City
Downtown Oklahoma City is located at the geographic center of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area and is the principal business district of the city. With 115 city blocks and around of office space, downtown Oklahoma City also is the economic, financial, and entertainment center of the city...
. In the 1970s the company had a forest products division, and mineral mining in New Mexico, Arizona, and Idaho, and coal mining in Wyoming and Illinois. Most of the U.S operations were on land owned by the U.S. government
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
(i.e. Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...
, National Forest) and the Navajo Indian tribe.
Mainland China
Kerr-McGee had exploration, development, and production projects in Bohai Bay, China, near BeijingBeijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
. Additional exploration was planned for the South China Sea. These operations were run primarily from an office in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
.
Other locations
Kerr-McGee and its subsidiaries formerly operated in western KazakhstanKazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, western Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
, Benin
Benin
Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and several other more minor locations around the world at various times.
Controversy
Kerr-McGee received international criticism for undertaking exploration for hydrocarbon resources offshore the MoroccanMorocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
occupied area of Western Sahara
Western Sahara
Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly...
in 2001. In 2003, one of Norway's main private investment funds, Skagen Vekst, sold their €3.6 million stake in the oil company, referring to ethic problems surrounding Kerr-McGee's engagement in Western Sahara. In May 2005, despite of the growing protests, the company renewed the contract signed with Moroccan authorities until October. In June 2005, the Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
government sold the $52.7 million it had invested in the company through the Government Petroleum Fund (one of the biggest investment funds of the world), characterizing Kerr-McGee's contract in Western Sahara as having "particularly serious violations of fundamental ethical norms". That same month, another two Norwegian private investment funds (Storebrand
Storebrand
Storebrand is a financial services company in Norway. By volume, the company's main activities are related to life insurance and pension savings. However, the company also has major divisions working on investments, banking and, since 2006, P&C insurance products...
and KLP) sold their participations on Kerr-McGee, €1 million and €1.45 million respectively. On May 2, 2006, the company declared its intention to no longer drill off the coast of the Western Sahara, by not renewing the contract signed with Morocco.
In January 2007 Kerr-McGee was found guilty by a jury of underpaying oil extraction royalty taxes in the amount of US$7.6 million to the U.S. Government. The jury's decision was overturned by U.S. federal judge Phillip Figa of Denver, and the case has been appealed by the original plaintiff, former U.S. Department of the Interior auditor Bobby Maxwell.
The company is also at least partially responsible for large scale perchlorate
Perchlorate
Perchlorates are the salts derived from perchloric acid . They occur both naturally and through manufacturing. They have been used as a medicine for more than 50 years to treat thyroid gland disorders. They are used extensively within the pyrotechnics industry, and ammonium perchlorate is also a...
contamination of land used for a manufacturing facility in Henderson, Nevada
Henderson, Nevada
-Demographics:According to the 2000 census, there were 175,381 people, 66,331 households, and 47,095 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,200.8 people per square mile . There were 71,149 housing units at an average density of 892.8 per square mile...
.
Environmental record
In May 2007, Kerr-McGee Corp spent $18 million on pollutionPollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
controls in the first comprehensive settlement under the Clean Air Act
Clean Air Act
A Clean Air Act is one of a number of pieces of legislation relating to the reduction of airborne contaminants, smog and air pollution in general. The use by governments to enforce clean air standards has contributed to an improvement in human health and longer life spans...
that reduced harmful emission and conserved natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
at production facilities across Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
and Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. The settlement addressed violations discovered at several of Kerr-McGee's natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
compressor
Gas compressor
A gas compressor is a mechanical device that increases the pressure of a gas by reducing its volume.Compressors are similar to pumps: both increase the pressure on a fluid and both can transport the fluid through a pipe. As gases are compressible, the compressor also reduces the volume of a gas...
stations located on the Uinta
Uinta
-Places:* High Uintas Wilderness* Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation, Utah* Uintah County, Utah* Uinta County, Wyoming* Uinta Mountains, in the state of Utah* Uinta National Forest* Uintah, Utah, a town located in Weber County...
and Ouray Indian Reservation near Vernal, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, and in the Denver Julesburg Basin near Weld County, Colorado
Weld County, Colorado
As of the census of 2000, there were 180,936 people, 63,247 households, and 45,221 families residing in the county. The population density was 45 people per square mile . There were 66,194 housing units at an average density of 17 per square mile...
. In addition to implementing pollution
Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
controls, the agreement required Kerr-McGee to pay a $200,000 penalty
Sanctions (law)
Sanctions are penalties or other means of enforcement used to provide incentives for obedience with the law, or with rules and regulations. Criminal sanctions can take the form of serious punishment, such as corporal or capital punishment, incarceration, or severe fines...
, and spend $250,000 on environmental
Environment (biophysical)
The biophysical environment is the combined modeling of the physical environment and the biological life forms within the environment, and includes all variables, parameters as well as conditions and modes inside the Earth's biosphere. The biophysical environment can be divided into two categories:...
projects to benefit the areas in which violations occurred. In July 2005, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) settled with Kerr McGee Chemical in Henderson, Nevada that required the company to pay $55,392 penalty to resolve air permitting violations at its facility that began in 1993. The EPA cited Kerr-McGee for failing to install carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide , also called carbonous oxide, is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas that is slightly lighter than air. It is highly toxic to humans and animals in higher quantities, although it is also produced in normal animal metabolism in low quantities, and is thought to have some normal...
emissions controls required under the Clean Air Act
Clean Air Act
A Clean Air Act is one of a number of pieces of legislation relating to the reduction of airborne contaminants, smog and air pollution in general. The use by governments to enforce clean air standards has contributed to an improvement in human health and longer life spans...
when it installed a new open hearth furnace
Open hearth furnace
Open hearth furnaces are one of a number of kinds of furnace where excess carbon and other impurities are burnt out of the pig iron to produce steel. Since steel is difficult to manufacture due to its high melting point, normal fuels and furnaces were insufficient and the open hearth furnace was...
in 1993. The company spent $4.8 million to install proper pollution controls at the facility reducing total carbon monoxide emission by 115 ton
Ton
The ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight, and as a unit of volume. It can also be used as a measure of energy, for truck classification, or as a colloquial term.It is derived from...
s per year, an 80% reduction from previous levels.
Nuclear production
Kerr-McGee was involved in several nuclear endeavors.In 1952 Kerr-McGee bought the Navajo Uranium Mining Company, including an interest in a number of mines. It also bought an ore buying station at Shiprock, New Mexico
Shiprock, New Mexico
Shiprock is a census-designated place in San Juan County, New Mexico, United States, on the Navajo reservation. The population was 8,156 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Farmington Metropolitan Statistical Area....
. In 1953 it built a processing plant (called the Shiprock Mill) near the buying station. In 1963 the mines and mill were sold to the Vanadium Corporation of America.
Later a partnership with other companies was formed called the Kermac Nuclear Fuels Corporation. In 1957-58 this partnership built a uranium mill near Grants, New Mexico
Grants, New Mexico
Grants is a city in Cibola County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 9,182 at the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Cibola County....
and Ambrosia Lake
Ambrosia Lake
Ambrosia Lake is a sandy area near Grants, New Mexico that was heavily mined for uranium starting in the 1950s. It is in an anticlinal dome.-History:...
. In 1983 the mill was taken over by a new Kerr-McGee subsidiary called the Quivira Mining Corporation
Quivira Mining Corporation
The Quivira Mining Corporation was a uranium mining company owned by Kerr-McGee Corporation. It was formed from the Kerr-McGee Nuclear Corporation in 1983....
. Quivira was sold to Rio Algom in 1989.
From about 1962-1966 Kerr-McGee processed uranium at its oil refinery site in Cushing, Oklahoma
Cushing, Oklahoma
Cushing is a city in Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 8,371 at the 2000 census.The city was established after the Land Run of 1891 by Billy Rae Little. It was named for Marshall Cushing, private secretary to U.S. Postmaster General John Wanamaker...
. It received licenses in 1962 for processing uranium and thorium, and in 1963 for enriched uranium
Enriched uranium
Enriched uranium is a kind of uranium in which the percent composition of uranium-235 has been increased through the process of isotope separation. Natural uranium is 99.284% 238U isotope, with 235U only constituting about 0.711% of its weight...
. In 1966 it stopped production. An attempt was made to move all regulated nuclear material to the company's new Cimarron facility at Crescent, OK. Cleanups were attempted in 1966, 1972, 1979–82, and the 1990s
In about 1965 Kerr-McGee started producing uranium fuel at its Cimarron Fuel Fabrication Site
Cimarron Fuel Fabrication Site
The Cimarron Fuel Fabrication Site was a nuclear fuel production facility located by the Cimarron River near Crescent, Oklahoma. It was operated by Kerr-McGee Corporation from 1965-1975.- History :...
. This was located near the Cimarron River and Crescent, Oklahoma
Crescent, Oklahoma
Crescent is a city in Logan County, Oklahoma, United States. The population inside the city limits was 1,281 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. From 1973-1975 it would also produce mixed Plutonium-Uranium Oxide (MOX)
Mox
MOX might be a name or acronym for:*Malaysian Oxygen Berhad - A Malaysian company that is specializes in providing total gas solutions.*Mixed Oxide Fuel, from nuclear reprocessing*An alien race in the TimeSplitters 2 video game, the Mox...
'driver fuel pins' for use in the Fast Flux Test Facility
Fast Flux Test Facility
The Fast Flux Test Facility is a 400 MW nuclear test reactor owned by the U.S. Department of Energy.It is situated in the 400 Area of the Hanford Site, which is located in the state of Washington.-History:...
at the Hanford Site
Hanford Site
The Hanford Site is a mostly decommissioned nuclear production complex on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, operated by the United States federal government. The site has been known by many names, including Hanford Works, Hanford Engineer Works or HEW, Hanford Nuclear Reservation...
in Washington State. The plant shut down in 1976.
In the 1968 the company started construction on what would become the Sequoyah Fuels Corporation
Sequoyah Fuels Corporation
Sequoyah Fuels Corporation owned and operated a uranium processing plant near Gore, Oklahoma. The company was created in 1983 as a subsidiary of Kerr-McGee. In 1988 it was sold to General Atomics-Uranium processing plant :...
plant in Gore, Oklahoma
Gore, Oklahoma
Gore is a town in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, United States. It is part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 850 at the 2000 census...
. In 1970 the plant started turning yellowcake uranium into uranium hexafluoride
Uranium hexafluoride
Uranium hexafluoride , referred to as "hex" in the nuclear industry, is a compound used in the uranium enrichment process that produces fuel for nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons. It forms solid grey crystals at standard temperature and pressure , is highly toxic, reacts violently with water...
. In 1987 it began producing depleted
Depleted uranium
Depleted uranium is uranium with a lower content of the fissile isotope U-235 than natural uranium . Uses of DU take advantage of its very high density of 19.1 g/cm3...
uranium tetrafluoride
Uranium tetrafluoride
Uranium tetrafluoride is a green crystalline solid compound of uranium with an insignificant vapor pressure and very slight solubility in water. Uranium in its tetravalent state is very important in different technological processes...
using depleted uranium hexafluoride as input. In 1988 SFC was sold to General Atomics
General Atomics
General Atomics is a nuclear physics and defense contractor headquartered in San Diego, California. General Atomics’ research into fission and fusion matured into competencies in related technologies, allowing the company to expand into other fields of research...
. In 1993 production ceased.
In 1967 Kerr-McGee bought the American Potash and Chemical Company
American Potash and Chemical Company
American Potash and Chemical Company was a large chemical manufacturer in the United States from the 1920s through the 1960s. It produced various chemicals for US industry and the US military...
, which owned the Rare Earths Facility
Rare Earths Facility
The Rare Earths Facility was a production plant for various chemicals and metals including thorium, uranium, and radium. It was located in West Chicago, Illinois, USA.-History:...
in West Chicago, Illinois
West Chicago, Illinois
West Chicago is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 23,469 at the 2000 census. It was formerly named Turner Junction after its founder, John B. Turner, president of the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad in 1855...
. This facility produced thorium
Thorium
Thorium is a natural radioactive chemical element with the symbol Th and atomic number 90. It was discovered in 1828 and named after Thor, the Norse god of thunder....
, radium
Radium
Radium is a chemical element with atomic number 88, represented by the symbol Ra. Radium is an almost pure-white alkaline earth metal, but it readily oxidizes on exposure to air, becoming black in color. All isotopes of radium are highly radioactive, with the most stable isotope being radium-226,...
, and uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
by acid leaching
Leaching (metallurgy)
Leaching is a widely used extractive metallurgy technique which converts metals into soluble salts in aqueous media. Compared to pyrometallurgical operations, leaching is easier to perform and much less harmful, because no gaseous pollution occurs...
of monazite
Monazite
Monazite is a reddish-brown phosphate mineral containing rare earth metals. It occurs usually in small isolated crystals. There are actually at least four different kinds of monazite, depending on relative elemental composition of the mineral:...
sands and other ores. It stopped work in 1973.
Nuclear corporations, subsidiaries, and spinoffs
In 1956 Kerr-McGee formed the Kermac Nuclear Fuels Corporation in partnership with Anderson Development Corp, and Pacific Uranium Mines Co. It was active in New Mexico.Some time in the 1970s, the Kerr-McGee Nuclear Corporation was formed. In 1983 it split into the Quivira Mining Corporation
Quivira Mining Corporation
The Quivira Mining Corporation was a uranium mining company owned by Kerr-McGee Corporation. It was formed from the Kerr-McGee Nuclear Corporation in 1983....
and Sequoyah Fuels Corporation
Sequoyah Fuels Corporation
Sequoyah Fuels Corporation owned and operated a uranium processing plant near Gore, Oklahoma. The company was created in 1983 as a subsidiary of Kerr-McGee. In 1988 it was sold to General Atomics-Uranium processing plant :...
. Quivira got the Ambrosia Lake
Ambrosia Lake
Ambrosia Lake is a sandy area near Grants, New Mexico that was heavily mined for uranium starting in the 1950s. It is in an anticlinal dome.-History:...
, NM mine, while Sequoyah Fuels took over the Sequoyah plant in Gore, OK, as well as the Cimarron
Cimarron Fuel Fabrication Site
The Cimarron Fuel Fabrication Site was a nuclear fuel production facility located by the Cimarron River near Crescent, Oklahoma. It was operated by Kerr-McGee Corporation from 1965-1975.- History :...
plant in Crescent, OK. Sequoyah was sold to General Atomics
General Atomics
General Atomics is a nuclear physics and defense contractor headquartered in San Diego, California. General Atomics’ research into fission and fusion matured into competencies in related technologies, allowing the company to expand into other fields of research...
in 1988. and Quivira was sold to Rio Algom in 1989.
The Cimarron Corporation was a subdivision that took control of the Cimarron plant in 1988. When Tronox
Tronox
Tronox, Inc. is an Oklahoma City based chemical company involved in the manufacture of titanium dioxide pigment.It was formerly the Kerr-McGee Chemical Corporation. .- History :...
was spun off in 2006, it would get ownership of Cimarron Corporation and responsibility for the plant as well.
Kerr-McGee bought the American Potash and Chemical Company
American Potash and Chemical Company
American Potash and Chemical Company was a large chemical manufacturer in the United States from the 1920s through the 1960s. It produced various chemicals for US industry and the US military...
in 1967, including its Rare Earths Facility
Rare Earths Facility
The Rare Earths Facility was a production plant for various chemicals and metals including thorium, uranium, and radium. It was located in West Chicago, Illinois, USA.-History:...
that processed uranium and thorium. AMPOT became Kerr-McGee Chemical Company around 1970 or 1974. In 2005 this became Tronox
Tronox
Tronox, Inc. is an Oklahoma City based chemical company involved in the manufacture of titanium dioxide pigment.It was formerly the Kerr-McGee Chemical Corporation. .- History :...
. Tronox became independent in 2006, a few months before Kerr-McGee was sold to Anadarko Petroleum. Tronox later went bankrupt, blaming in part the environmental liabilities inherited from KMC. In 2009 purchasers of Tronox filed a class action lawsuit against Anadarko for having allegedly misled investors.
Licenses
In the US, nuclear companies must get licenses from the Nuclear Regulatory CommissionNuclear Regulatory Commission
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is an independent agency of the United States government that was established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 from the United States Atomic Energy Commission, and was first opened January 19, 1975...
. Kerr-McGee licenses follow:
- SNM-928 - Cimarron - uranium fuel fabrication
- SNM-1174 - Cimarron - mixed oxide fuel (MOXMoxMOX might be a name or acronym for:*Malaysian Oxygen Berhad - A Malaysian company that is specializes in providing total gas solutions.*Mixed Oxide Fuel, from nuclear reprocessing*An alien race in the TimeSplitters 2 video game, the Mox...
) fabrication - ?-1993 - STA-583 - Rare Earths Facility
- SMB-664 - Cushing refinery - uranium and thorium. 1962-1966
- SNM-695 - Cushing refinery - enriched uranium. 1963-1966
- SNM-1999 - Cushing refinery - cleanup. 1993-2006
- SUB-1010 - Sequoyah
Karen Silkwood
It is alleged that Karen SilkwoodKaren Silkwood
Karen Gay Silkwood was an American labor union activist and chemical technician at the Kerr-McGee plant near Crescent, Oklahoma, United States. Silkwood's job was making plutonium pellets for nuclear reactor fuel rods...
was negligently or purposefully contaminated with plutonium
Plutonium
Plutonium is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation...
while working at Kerr-McGee's Cimarron Fuel Fabrication Site
Cimarron Fuel Fabrication Site
The Cimarron Fuel Fabrication Site was a nuclear fuel production facility located by the Cimarron River near Crescent, Oklahoma. It was operated by Kerr-McGee Corporation from 1965-1975.- History :...
and investigating safety violations at the plant. Her activism and November 1974 death were the subject of the 1983 film Silkwood
Silkwood
Silkwood is a 1983 American drama film directed by Mike Nichols. The screenplay by Nora Ephron and Alice Arlen was inspired by the true-life story of Karen Silkwood, who died in a suspicious car accident while investigating alleged wrongdoing at the Kerr-McGee plutonium plant where she...
. In a civil suit against Kerr-McGee by the Estate of Karen Silkwood, Judge Frank Theis told the jury, "If you find that the damage to the person or property of Karen Silkwood resulted from the operation of this plant, Kerr-McGee is liable."
The jury rendered its verdict of $505,000 in damages and $10,000,000 in punitive damages. On appeal, the judgment was reduced to $5,000. In 1984, the U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
restored the original verdict (Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp., 464 U.S. 283
Case citation
Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported...
(1984)). The suit was headed for retrial when Kerr-McGee settled out of court in 1986 for $1.38 million, admitting no liability. Gerry Spence, the noted trial lawyer from Jackson Hole, Wyoming represented the Karen Silkwood estate in this litigation.