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ExxonMobil releases 7-day report from BR refinery inferno, says chemicals did not reach dangerous levels

4 years 1 month 1 week ago Tuesday, February 18 2020 Feb 18, 2020 February 18, 2020 5:25 PM February 18, 2020 in News
Source: The Advocate

UPDATE: ExxonMobil has released its full seven-day report addressing the fire at its Baton Rouge refinery last week. 

The report says the while potentially dangerous chemicals were released, the majority was combusted in the fire before they could pose a threat.

The report also explains the notification of released materials given to state police early on was a "conservatively high estimate" intended to be protective of the general public before the actual quantities were calculated. 

The actual cause of the fire is still under investigation, and another update is planned in the 60-day follow-up letter.

Read the full report here.

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BATON ROUGE - A late-night fire at the ExxonMobil refinery in Baton Rouge this week may have released chemicals into the air that can be toxic at high enough concentrations.

The Advocate cites a report from Louisiana State Police saying that the fire is suspected of releasing benzene and 1,3 butadiene, both of which are known to cause cancer, among other chemicals that can be dangerous in large concentrations. 

The amounts of those chemicals actually released in the fire are unclear at this time, however. And the actual amount of of the chemicals released will likely remain unknown until next week when ExxonMobil is expected to release its seven-day report. 

Though the amount of chemicals released is unknown, monitoring devices at the site did not detect harmful concentrations in the air, according to the report.

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