ExxonMobil reaches settlement on 2013 refinery fire
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department and ExxonMobil Corp have reached a settlement resolving Clean Air Act violations stemming from a 2013 fire at the company’s Beaumont, Texas, refinery that killed two employees and injured 10 others, the department said.
The 2013 fire broke out at the refinery when workers removed bolts from a section of a heat exchanger using a torch, which released hydrocarbons, the Justice Department said.
A heat exchanger heats raw material entering a unit and cools product leaving a unit by having them pass close to each other in a dense piping system.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s inspection after the incident uncovered violations of Chemical Accident Prevention provisions, according to the Justice Department.
Reporting by Makini Brice; editing by Eric Beech and Cynthia Osterman
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