The explosion occurred when a unit of the Anacortes refinery was being brought back online following maintenance work was being performed.  Large flames, which were buffeted by high winds raged from the refinery, were extinguished after about 90 minutes. While the extent of the damage is unknown, the refinery continues partial operations.  The refinery, which is located on Fidalgo Bay about 70 miles north of Seattle, has about 300 employees.

The Anacortes refinery is Washington State’s largest oil refinery, capable of producing 130,000 barrels of crude oil daily.  It primarily processes Alaska North Slop crude oil, turning it into gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel used mostly in the states of Washington and Oregon.

The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board and Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (“L&I”) are investigation the accident.  In an inspection conducted in 2009, L&I found that 17 serious safety and health violations at the Anacortes refinery.  L&I inspectors found a total 150 instances of non-compliance at the Tesoro refinery.  The company was not ensuring safe work practices for energy control and had failed to update safety information when changes were made to equipment and technology.

Fines amounting to $85,700 were levied against Tesoro for the violations and L&I required that the hazards be corrected and an independent safety audit be conducted.  However, the fines for Tesoro reduced to $12,250, according to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Web site.