The above title was taken from a thoughtful and informative piece published in the Gulf News. This isn’t a Gulf of Mexico news source, but one from the other side of the country—where many of the same concerns exist because of the similar presence of the oil industry.
According to the piece, there are huge dangers involved when a fire occurs at a refinery, and those dangers and the lessons from the resulting fires present lessons for all of us—around the world.
In particular, the writer looks at the fire this month at the Richmond refinery in California, a fire that resulted in the hospitalization of thousands of residents for inhalation of smoke and contaminants. Though no one died in the fire, the consequences of it are still being felt. According to the Gulf News:
The refinery was processing up to 240,000 barrels of crude oil a day and therefore was central to the supply of products in California and gasoline prices have shot up to more than $4 (Dh14.6) a gallon, well above prices in other states due to the fact that supplies from other states do not meet the stringent qualities of California gasoline. Other refineries may supply some of the products lost but this remains to be seen as the repairs may take months to bring the plant back into operation and repairs will not start before investigations are complete.
Just like most refinery fires, the incident started with a simple problem of a leaking pipe carrying a very hot product and before the operators had an idea of what to do the pipe exploded and the fire spread to the rest of the main processing unit. Investigators later found that the line was about 40-years-old, corroded and should have been replaced earlier.
Residents of the area and environmental groups had been in contention with the Richmond refinery because of its closeness to well-populated cities and towns and were able in 2008 to stop a project to expand and upgrade the refinery by taking legal action. This should be a lesson to others to phase out old refineries especially when they are situated so near to populous cities. I am at least aware of one almost 60-year-old refinery very close to the centre of a six million people city which is being expanded and upgraded. It is not good for the city of course but it is expedient for those running the industry there.
Refineries present unique dangers to the workers within and to those in the immediate areas. When tragedy strikes, the likelihood of death or serious injuries is great. Because the oil industry is still a major player in Texas, we see more than our share of related severe burn accidents—accidents that should never happen.
Kevin Krist, Houston Catastrophic Injury Lawyer
If you or someone close to you has been seriously injured in a Houston accident, whether at a refinery or somewhere else, I may be able to help. Accidents like this can change and even claim lives. You deserve justice.
Contact a Texas personal injury and accident lawyer today to discuss your legal options and how I might be able to help. Call 281-677-3967 for a free consultation.
