SEATTLE (AP) — Tesoro Corp. has confirmed through an internal report that a hydrocarbon explosion and fire killed seven workers at its Anacortes, Wash., refinery in April of 2010.
More than a year after the deadly blast, the San Antonio-based company released on Thursday a report saying that it has already changed safety standards to prevent such risks.
The company says a “high temperature hydrogen attack” ruptured a heat exchanger. A hydrogen attack happens when hydrogen mixes with carbon.
Among the new safety initiatives, the company says new heat exchangers will be designed to minimize the risk of hydrogen attacks.
The state Department of Labor and Industries had previously concluded that Tesoro failed to inspect cracks that had developed in the nearly 40-year-old heat exchanger that ruptured. Tesoro was fined $2.39 million by the state.
