SAINT JOHN, N.B. -- Irving Oil has been fined $200,000 after pleading guilty to a charge arising from the Thanksgiving 2018 explosion and fire at its Saint John refinery.
Irving Oil Refining G.P. faced a charge under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Court documents show of the approximately 1,500 workers on site at the time, 80 workers from 17 different employers reported injuries of varying degrees. The worst injury was a broken heel.
The cause of the explosion was localized corrosion in a reactor effluent pipe originally installed in 1974, court documents reveal. It ruptured without warning.
There was an inspection system in place to detect corrosion, but the "localized nature" of the corrosion allowed it to go undetected.
Court documents show that Irving Oil inspected all other pipes for similar corrosion and found no other pipes in a similar condition.