CSB Releases Fact Update on PES Refinery Explosion

Posted on 10/28/2019 by Roger Marks

The Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) released a factual update on the major incident at the PES Refinery in Philadelphia in the early morning hours of June 21, 2019.

CSB also released a preliminary animation of the incident.

Beginning at 3:20 a.m. on June 21, an unintentional release of hydrocarbon vapors led to three explosions at the PES refinery. The refinery has been described as the largest facility of its kind on the eastern seaboard. The facility produced about 335,000 barrels (14 million gallons) of crude oil per day.

Four employees were treated for minor injuries on site. A shelter-in-place order was put in place for nearby residents, and parts of Interstate 76 were closed while more than 100 firefighters battled the fire.

A passing motorist caught the third and biggest explosion on a cell phone camera and posted it to Twitter:

@6abc @CBSPhilly @FOX29philly Philadelphia energy Solutions Refining Complex at about 4:15 am pic.twitter.com/vK1Vs2MEfR
— hood’s favorite vegan (@1nicetownbean) June 21, 2019

Online 49 CFR & RCRA Training

Need to renew your hazmat shipping or hazardous waste certification? Complete your required training when and where you want with these two easy-to-use refresher courses:

Recurrent Hazmat Ground Shipper Certification
Keep your knowledge of DOT's Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) up to date and satisfy the three-year hazmat training mandate at 49 CFR 172.704.

RCRA Hazardous Waste Management Refresher
This streamlined course provides annually required RCRA training on critical hazardous waste management, storage, and disposal requirements for generators. Satisfy EPA's annual training mandate at 40 CFR 262.17.

Both of these online courses are updated continuously to cover the latest US DOT and US EPA regulations that impact your operations. Enroll now or check out the complete Course Catalog here.

Tags: accidents, chemical, hazmat incident, PES refinery, safety

Find a Post

Search for:

Compliance Topics

Compliance Archives

The instructor made the class enjoyable. He presented in a very knowledgeable, personable manner. Best class I've ever attended. Will take one again.

John Nekoloff

Environmental Compliance Manager

Lion is at the top of the industry in compliance training. Course content and structure are updated frequently to make annual re-training enjoyable. I like that Lion has experts that I can contact for 1 year after the training.

Caroline Froning

Plant Chemist

Very well structured, comprehensive, and comparable to live training seminars I've participated in previously. I will recommend the online course to other colleagues with training requirement needs.

Neil Luciano

EHS Manager

Lion is my preferred trainer for hazmat and DOT.

Jim Jani

Environmental Coordinator

Given the choice, I would do all coursework this way. In-person courses go very fast without the opportunity to pause or repeat anything.

Ellen Pelton

Chemical Laboratory Manager

I will never go anywhere, but to Lion Technology.

Dawn Swofford

EHS Technician

We have a very busy work schedule and using Lion enables us to take the course at our own time. It makes it easy for me to schedule my employees' training.

Timothy Mertes

Hazmat Shipping Professional

I have been to other training companies, but Lion’s material is much better and easier to understand.

Mark Abell

Regional Manager

The instructor was very very informative, helpful, understandable and pleasant. This course answered many questions I had, being new to this industry.

Frances Mona

Shipping Manager

The instructor was very engaging and helped less experienced people understand the concepts.

Steve Gall

Safety Leader

Download Our Latest Whitepaper

What to do before, during, and after a RCRA hazardous waste inspection to defend your site from rising State and Federal penalties.

Download

By submitting your phone number, you agree to receive recurring marketing and training text messages. Consent to receive text messages is not required for any purchases. Text STOP at any time to cancel. Message and data rates may apply. View our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.