‘Are we safe?’: Living in the shadow of a refinery

Set against the picturesque Rocky Mountains is a city-like maze of metal and fire, where towering flare stacks glow against the dark. A deep industrial hum drifts through the night, lulling nearby residents to sleep as its presence gnaws at their health. For the people of Commerce City, some of whom have lived next to the Suncor oil refinery for decades, the struggle for clean air and water has become an intergenerational reality.

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