Comments about ‘Vapor cloud led to refinery fire, board says’

I'll answer that . . . it's an old run-down refinery with a poor safety record. I feel bad for the people that work there, especially those that got injured. The tanks at that refinery are old and rusty. If you drive by and see some shiny new tanks, don't be deceived -- those are just pretty skins they wrapped around the old rusty tanks underneath. I watched them do that. Other refineries in the area at least make attempts to keep modernized and to reach out to the community, but this refinery is the smelliest, noisiest and least safe of any around there. And they don't seem to care at all for the safety of their workers or nearby residents. Sure, the refineries were there first, but the fact is there are other businesses and homes there now, and the refineries need to pay more attention to that.

The big problem is that the refinery is too small to support an effective safety department. The safety function at the refinery is just a part-time job.