SUPERIOR, Wis. (AP) — An explosion rocked a large refinery in Wisconsin Thursday, injuring several people, a fire official said.
The blast at the Husky Energy oil refinery happened at about 10 a.m. Five people were taken to hospitals in Duluth, Minnesota, Superior Fire Chief Steve Panger told The Associated Press. He doesn’t know the extent of their injuries. Others were walking wounded. There were no known fatalities.
A contractor who was inside the building told WDIO television that the explosion sounded like “a sonic boom” and that it happened when crews were working on shutting the plant down for repairs.
Panger said the fire was out by 11:20 a.m. He said a small tank exploded, and the product was either crude oil or asphalt.
Superior police are advising people to stay away from the area and roads around the refinery have been blocked off. There have been no neighborhood evacuations. Superior is a city of about 27,000 people that borders Minnesota to the north and the tip of Lake Superior.
No damage estimate was available. The Superior Fire Department sent all three engine companies to the explosion, and nearby Duluth sent over a command vehicle.
Calgary-Alberta-based Husky Energy refinery bought the refinery from Indianapolis-based Calumet Specialty Products Partners last year for over $490 million. It’s Wisconsin’s only refinery, and produces gasoline, asphalt and other products.
The refinery, which dates back to the early 1950s, has a professing capacity of around 50,000 barrels per day and a storage capacity of 3.6 million barrels of crude and products. It processes both heavy crude from the Canadian tar sands in Alberta and lighter North Dakota Bakken crude.
What’s the problem? A relaxed regulatory environment will bring more jobs to the state! (s)
This obviously calls for the elimination of several safety regulations and industry oversight boards.
There are at least 6 new jobs available already!
Plus they have now found another way not to refine oil!
See the market will find the least expensive and less dangerous way to do things if you just let them try all the cheaper more dangerous ways first, with the added bonus of fewer people looking for a job!
And the heat from the explosion will help offset a chillier than usual start to spring! Huzzah for the glories of the free market!
Let’s just hope those communist moochers who got themselves blown up didn’t have the audacity to expect their sweet, precious, blessed employer to provide them with health insurance. After all, they are free to shop around for local doctors who will accept goods or services in barter instead of relying on un-American socialism at a forced cost to the business.