一家化工公司指控总部位于休斯顿的燃料贸易商 Atlas Oil Company（阿特拉斯石油公司）将一种会释放氰化物的有毒化合物混入汽油，并在本月提交的法庭文件中称，这种燃料似乎导致了一名工人死亡。
A chemical company has accused Houston-based fuel trader Atlas Oil Company of mixing a toxic, cyanide-releasing compound into gasoline and said in a court filing this month that the fuel appears to have contributed to a worker's death.
Modern Chemical（摩登化工），也称为 Commercial Beverage Concepts，在向德克萨斯州商业法院提交的文件中指控，Atlas 秘密将丙烯腈——一种会释放氰化物且并非获批燃料添加剂的致命化合物——混入汽油。
Modern Chemical, also known as Commercial Beverage Concepts, alleged in the filing in the Texas Business Court that Atlas secretly mixed propionitrile, a deadly compound that releases cyanide and is not an approved fuel additive, into gasoline.
这些指控是在一起关于向墨西哥发运燃油款项未付的商业纠纷的反诉中提出的，指控 Atlas 违反联邦运输规定并违反《清洁空气法》。Modern 还指控 Atlas 从事一系列敲诈勒索活动，包括实施银行欺诈和洗钱。
The allegations, made in a counter petition in a commercial dispute over unpaid fuel shipments to Mexico, accuse Atlas of breaking federal transport rules and violating the Clean Air Act. Modern also alleges that Atlas engaged in a pattern of racketeering activity, including committing bank fraud and money laundering.
法庭文件还将这种混合燃料与德克萨斯州阿兰萨斯帕斯一名工人的死亡联系起来，该工人的家属正在另行起诉 Atlas 及其他两家公司。
The court filing also ties the blended fuel to the death of a worker in Aransas Pass, Texas, whose family is suing Atlas and two other companies separately.
这些指控引发了关于燃油安全、遵守联邦运输和环境法规，以及有争议的燃料是否导致一名德克萨斯州铁路罐车工人死亡的问题。Atlas 表示这些指控毫无根据，计划申请驳回诉讼，而该工人的家属正在另行提起过失诉讼。
The allegations raise questions about fuel safety, compliance with federal transportation and environmental regulations, and whether the disputed fuel contributed to the death of a Texas railcar worker. Atlas, which has said the allegations are without foundation, plans to seek a dismissal, while the worker's family is pursuing a separate negligence lawsuit.
Modern 指控，尽管 Atlas 早在 2025 年 5 月 2 日就知晓丙烯腈未获批用作燃料添加剂，且属于有毒物质，吸入、食入或经皮肤吸收即使在低浓度下也能致死，但 Atlas 仍将 80% 至 85% 的汽油与 15% 至 20% 的丙烯腈进行混合。
Modern alleges that Atlas would blend 80% to 85% gasoline with 15% to 20% propionitrile despite knowing as early as May 2, 2025, that the compound was not approved for use as a fuel additive, and that it was a toxic substance that, if inhaled, ingested or absorbed through the skin, could kill a person even in low concentrations.
据贸易商和业内人士称，公司常将低成本材料混入燃料以提高利润率。然而，根据 Modern 的请愿书，丙烯腈并不在美国环境保护局批准的汽油添加剂清单上。
Companies often blend lower-cost materials into fuel to improve margins, according to traders and people in the industry. Propionitrile, however, is not on the US Environmental Protection Agency's list of approved gasoline additives, according to Modern's petition.
请愿书指控称：“Atlas 的欺诈行为……违反了多项刑事法规，并似乎实际上导致了一名 34 岁父亲的死亡，他在一家铁路车辆转运设施工作时被混合燃料泼溅，两天后身亡。”请愿书引用了美国职业安全与健康管理局的一份报告和 Felix Fonseca Jr. 的讣告作为依据。
"Atlas’s fraudulent conduct ... violated several criminal statutes and appears to have actually killed a thirty-four year old father working at a railcar transload facility who was splashed with some of the blended fuel and died two days later," the petition alleged, citing a report from the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration and an obituary for Felix Fonseca Jr. Atlas' lawyers at Baker McKenzie said in a statement to Reuters that Modern's allegations, including its racketeering claims, are without foundation.
Atlas 的代理律师、贝克麦坚时律师事务所在给路透社的声明中表示，Modern 的指控（包括勒索指控）毫无根据。
"Atlas intends to respond in full in due course with a motion to dismiss and to seek recovery of fees," the lawyers said.
律师们表示：“Atlas 打算在适当时候通过提交驳回动议并寻求追回费用，对指控作出全面回应。由于诉讼正在进行中，Atlas 目前不会就具体指控发表进一步评论。”Modern 在请愿书中指控，Atlas 使用虚假标牌在铁路罐车上运输掺假燃料，违反了多项联邦法规和规定。
"Because this is pending litigation, Atlas will not comment further on the specific allegations at this time." Modern in its petition has alleged that Atlas transported the adulterated fuel using false placards on the railcars in violation of several federal statutes and regulations.
Modern 还指控，当 Atlas 得知某些燃料测试能检测出混合物质时，指示其供应商改变测试混合物的方法，明显目的是稀释样本以掩盖该化合物的存在。
Modern has also alleged that when Atlas learned that certain fuel tests could detect the blended substance, Atlas directed its vendor to test the blend differently, with an apparent goal of diluting the sample to mask the presence of the compound.
请愿书指控，这种掺混也违反了《清洁空气法》，因为丙烯腈不是机动车汽油的允许添加剂。
Such blending also violates the Clean Air Act, as propionitrile is not a permissible additive for motor vehicle gasoline, the petition alleges.
Atlas 在一份法庭文件中表示，其售予 Modern 的所有产品在发运前均经美国一家信誉良好的铁路罐车检验服务机构认证，同时指控 Modern 在墨西哥对产品进行了“不当、不可靠的测试”。Modern 未回应置评请求。
All product Atlas sold to Modern was certified through a reputable railcar inspection service in the United States prior to shipment, Atlas said in a filing, while alleging that Modern engaged in "improper, unreliable testing" of the product in Mexico. Modern did not respond to a request for additional comments.