CSB Releases New Safety Video On Explosion And Fire At The Husky Superior Refinery In Wisconsin

The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) released a new safety video on its investigation into the April 2018 explosion and fire at the Husky Superior Refinery in Superior, Wisconsin.

The incident injured 36 workers, caused roughly $550 million in damage to the facility, and released 39,000 pounds of flammable hydrocarbon vapor into the air. Over 2,500 residents of the City of Superior were evacuated from their homes, and the City of Duluth, Minnesota, issued a shelter-in-place order.

At the time of the incident, the Superior Refinery was owned by Husky Energy, which had purchased the refinery less than six months earlier in November 2017. In 2021, Husky Energy merged with Cenovus Energy.

CSB's new safety video

The CSB's new safety video includes an animation of the series of events pioneering to the incident

The CSB's new safety video includes an animation of the series of events pioneering to the incident, and interviews with both the CSB’s Chairperson Steve Owens and Lead Investigator, Melike Yersiz.

The incident at the Superior Refinery occurred while the refinery was shutting down its fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit to perform planned maintenance. Two vessels within the FCC unit exploded sending debris flying into the air. One piece traveled about 200 feet and hit a large aboveground storage tank, puncturing the side of the tank, and releasing hot asphalt. The asphalt later ignited causing a huge fire.

Author's quote

In the safety video Chairperson Steve Owens states, “Refinery shutdowns, as well as startups, can be particularly dangerous because processes are not in normal operation mode. Our investigation found that critical safeguards were not in place during this shutdown, and the procedures followed at the refinery were not correct."

He adds, "The result was a massive explosion and fire that injured dozens of workers, caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage, and threatened surrounding communities.”

CSB’s final report

The CSB’s final report notes that in addition to smoke from the fires at the refinery, the City of Superior’s evacuation was based on the potential risk of a release of highly toxic hydrofluoric acid (HF), which was stored and used at the refinery. 

Although no HF release occurred, the HF storage tank was about 150 feet away from the two vessels that exploded, about 50 feet closer than the asphalt storage tank that was damaged. Therefore, the CSB considers this incident to be a serious near miss that, had an HF release occurred, could have been much worse.

Investigating incidents and hazards

CSB is an independent federal agency charged with investigating incidents and hazards in catastrophic release

Chairperson Steve Owens closes the video by saying, “The incident at the Superior Refinery should serve as a wakeup call to other refineries, especially those that have hydrofluoric acid alkylation units. During transient operations, refineries must have necessary safeguards in place- and follow correct procedures to prevent disasters from occurring.”

The CSB is an independent federal agency charged with investigating incidents and hazards that result or may result, in the catastrophic release of extremely hazardous substances.

Agency’s core mission activities

The agency’s core mission activities include conducting incident investigations; formulating preventive or mitigative recommendations based on investigation findings and advocating for their implementation; issuing reports containing the findings, conclusions, and recommendations arising from incident investigations; and conducting studies on chemical hazards.

The agency's board members are appointed by the president subject to Senate confirmation. The Board does not issue citations or fines but makes safety recommendations to companies, industry organizations, labor groups, and regulatory agencies such as OSHA and EPA.