Five People Killed in a Refinery Blast

There was a toxic explosion last month at an oil refinery in Washington State that killed more than five people. There was five workers killed and two more were injured. The blast occurred at the refinery located north of Seattle, and it was the deadliest refinery blast in five years.

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board which is the federal agency that investigates large industrial accidents is investigating this explosion. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will also be involved in the investigation. The state environmental regulators fined the refinery $85,700 for 17 serious safety and health violations that could have lead to death or serious physical injury.

An area of the plant was shut down near the blast site at a unit that makes naphtha, a key gasoline component. When the explosion occurred, the workers that were killed and injured were putting a unit back in service after a maintenance project.

Many refinery accidents happen during the restart or shutting of units. Tesoro has seven refineries in the western part of the country, with a combined capacity of about 665,000 barrels a day.