Irving Oil Fined $200K For Failing To Protect Workers

Eighty workers were hurt in the explosion and fire at the Irving Oil refinery in October 2018.

Court documents reveal most of those injuries occurred as workers were running away or fell trying to leave.

Irving Oil Refining GP pleaded guilty in court Wednesday to a charge under the Occupational Health and Safety Act covering an employer’s duty to take every reasonable precaution to ensure the health and safety of its employees.

Court documents say the explosion was caused by a corroded pipe in the hydrogen desulfurization unit which ruptured. The pipe had originally been installed in 1974.

On the day of the incident, the pipe ruptured discharging a flammable mixture that ignited starting a fire.

1500 people were on site and the injured represented 17 different employers.

Workers suffered smoke inhalation, injuries from noise, psychological stress with the most serious injury being a broken heel bone.

For pleading guilty to the charge, Irving Oil must pay a fine of 200-thousand dollars.

The company inspected all similar reactor effluent pipes for localized corrosion or process conditions that might cause a similar incident and no similar conditions were found in similar pipes.

Irving Oil undertook projects to improve the safety of the line replacing the pipe and related safety systems to increase corrosion resistance.

The company also brought in industry experts to advise on the cause of the incident and the redesign to ensure the system is more resistant to corrosion.