Working in the gas industry can come with many potential dangers. Those dangers can lead to a work injury at any time and it can also impact the lives of those who live near a gas facility. Anyone who works at a gas processing plant in California may be interested to hear what happened at a plant just north of California recently.
In the early morning, there was an explosion at a natural gas processing plant. This led to a fire and also resulted in one of the storage tanks being punctured. The tanks house liquid natural gas. This led to a leak that was contained in a moat-like area. The fire reportedly took hours to put out.
One worker at the plant was transplanted to a hospital specializing in burns, while four others were taken to another medical facility for treatment of injuries. Officials went to homes within a 2-mile radius and asked residents to evacuate. Roughly 400 people were in the evacuation circle. Several agencies were on the scene to help determine what caused the explosion.
Once the cause of the explosion is determined, any corrective measures or policies that need to be enacted to prevent another explosion will most likely be adopted. However, the workers who suffered a work injury related to the explosion may need to take off work to recover. They may also incur medical bills related to their injuries. In California and elsewhere, workers’ compensation laws are designed to protect those who suffer a work injury and ensure they are able to get the medical care they need.
Source: sfgate.com, “Blast rocks Washington gas plant; 5 workers hurt”, Jeff Barnard, April 1, 2014