Blast at Brazilian refinery burns three workers
1/21/2015 12:00:00 AM
An explosion at Petrobras' 323,000-bpd Landulpho Alves refinery (RLAM) severely burned three workers.
The accident occurred on Sunday, January 18, and is the second major accident at Brazil's second-largest refinery within a week.
The workers sustained severe burns from 10% to 75% of their bodies.
Due to recent scandals on corruption, Petrobras has encountered cash flow problems and has stop paying vendors. In addition, the refiner is not using contractors and E&C companies for maintenance and construction projects.
On Wednesday, January 14, a fire in the RLAM’s paraffin unit occurred due to a faulty valve. No one was injured in that event.
The accidents raise concerns that Petrobras is operating its 14 refineries at full capacity to meet domestic demand and may not be shutting down process units for needed maintenance, according to union officials.
The union is planning a wildcat protest strike over staff layoffs and work rules.
Comments