September 2016
Environment and Safety
Review of the CSB report on the 2010 Tesoro refinery fire
On April 2, 2010, a catastrophic fire occurred within the naphtha hydrotreating unit in the Tesoro refinery in Anacortes, Washington. The final CSB report, including recommendations, was issued in May 2014, more than four years after the incident that resulted in the tragic loss of seven lives. This work critically reviews the CSB analysis of this incident and several of its resulting recommendations.
The Author
Stephen J. McGovern has over 40 years of experience in the refining and petrochemical industries, and has been a principal of PetroTech Consultants since 2000, providing consulting services on various refining technologies, including ultra-low-sulfur diesel and low-sulfur gasoline projects and refining economics. Dr. McGovern has assisted numerous refiners in the technical and economic evaluation of gasoline and diesel desulfurization technologies, catalytic cracking and environmental issues. He has provided technical advice to governmental and commercial enterprises for the production of biofuels. He previously worked for Mobil Technology Co., where he was involved in process development and refinery technical support. He has 18 patents to his credit, and has lectured, published and consulted on refining technology and environmental issues. Dr. McGovern is a licensed professional engineer in New Jersey and a past director of the fuels and petrochemicals division of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. He earned BS and MS degrees in chemical engineering from Drexel University, and an MS degree and PhD in chemical engineering from Princeton University.
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