Woods Cross refinery allowed to inspect damaged equipment

WOODS CROSS — Federal and state agencies have lifted restrictions on equipment involved in the Nov. 4, 2009, explosion at the Silver Eagle refinery, allowing the company to complete inspection of the damaged equipment and piping.

The Chemical Safety Board (CSB) and the Utah Occupational Safety and Health Division on Friday released to Silver Eagle Refining Inc. the process furnace and reactor associated with the explosion that damaged parts of the refinery and homes nearby.

The explosion caused an outcry, not only because of the damage, but because of a flash fire that occurred at the refinery in January 2009. That fire hospitalized four workers and led to evacuations across the city.

Following the November incident, Silver Eagle Refining voluntarily suspended operations of all process units at the refinery, and the CSB restricted access to the damaged section of the refinery.

The independent federal agency charged with investigating industrial chemical accidents has been working with Utah Occupational Safety and Health Division and refinery officials to put in place protocols and procedures outlining the steps to be taken prior to restarting the refinery.

CSB officials said Silver Eagle has been active in investigating the cause of the incident, "using reputable third parties to inspect equipment, piping and systems" to make sure the refinery is compliant with industry standards and government regulations.

When those steps are complete, Silver Eagle Refining will set dates for a restart. Neighbors and stakeholders will be notified when that happens, CSB officials said.

In June, the Utah Occupational Safety and Health Division fined Silver Eagle Refining more than $1 million. The bulk of the fines — $896,000 — stemmed from what the division called "willful" violations, meaning either the company knowingly committed them or didn't knowingly commit them but was aware of hazardous conditions and acted in careless disregard of its responsibilities.

The citations also included "serious" violations with fines totaling $102,000. Serious violations are those where an accident could occur that would result in death or serious physical harm. The division also issued $8,400 in fines for "repeat" violations.

The refinery has been running at less than 50 percent of capacity since February, when it was allowed to restart some of its operations.

e-mail: jpage@desnews.com