Skip to Main Content

Phillips 66 Wood River Refinery Explosion Under Investigation, Contractor Remains Hospitalized

 

An investigation is underway into the Phillips 66 Wood River refinery explosion in Roxana, Illinois, that sent a contract worker to the hospital late Sunday afternoon.

“Something Went Wrong” During Crude Unit Restart

Yesterday, a refinery spokesperson confirmed the probe began shortly after emergency crews extinguished the resulting fire on the facility’s second-largest crude processing unit.

“We have two foam pumpers inside the plant,” the spokesperson said. “Most people only see them in parades when we bring them out. We have highly-skilled folks operating them and ready to respond. They train for thousands of hours on the equipment to be ready for situations like these. That’s why the fire was put out so fast.”

The crude processing unit had been offline for routine maintenance and was preparing to restart on February 10th, when “something went wrong” and triggered the explosion shortly before 4:30 p.m.

Contractor Injured in Phillips 66 Refinery Explosion Walked to Ambulance

A contractor suffered burns during the incident, but was apparently able to walk to an ambulance.

According to the Wood River refinery spokesperson, he was undergoing treatment at an area hospital on Tuesday.

No one else was hurt in the explosion, and all other workers were accounted for.

Phillips 66 Wood River Refinery Recently Settled EPA Lawsuit

Phillips 66 operates the Wood River refinery as a joint venture with Cenovus Energy, Inc.

Last August, the companies agreed to spend nearly $11 million on pollution controls at the Wood River refinery as part of a settlement with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The agreement also included a $475,000 fine and $500,000 to decrease lead paint hazards at certain homes and buildings.

The EPA charged the refinery with more than a dozen Clean Air Act violations after a 2009 operational change caused excessive emissions of sulfur dioxide, hydrogen  sulfide, carbon monoxide, and benzene.

A month after the settlement was announced, four contractors were hospitalized after suffering “a respiratory exposure” in a refinery tower. Apparently, the workers were cleaning and performing routine maintenance in a confined space when they fell ill.

Call 1-888-603-3636 or Click Here For a Free Consultation with Our Undefeated Refinery Explosion Lawyers

Our Undefeated Plant Explosion Lawyers continue to monitor developments related to the Phillips 66 Wood River refinery explosion and fire, and will post updates as new information is made available.

In addition to being Undefeated, our firm has won over $1 billion and successfully represented more than 1,000 plant, pipeline, and refinery workers throughout the United States following the worst industrial explosions and disasters in recent history.

Call 1-888-603-3636 or Click Here to send us a confidential email via our “Contact Us” form.

All consultations are free, and because we only work on a contingency-fee basis, you’ll pay nothing unless we win your case.