In-Depth Video Details What Happened At Superior’s Husky Refinery
In April of 2018 and explosion occurred at the Husky Energy Refinery in Superior, Wisconsin. At the time, I lived in Proctor, MN which is still pretty close to what went on. Anyone who lived within even a hundred miles of the site probably remembers that day decently well as portions of Superior were evacuated.
While some individuals ended up in the hospital for injuries, fortunately no one was killed in the incident. Even though it happened essentially in the backyard of most people living in the Twin Ports region, many still don't know exactly what caused the issue. What many do know is there was a concern for Hydrogen Fluoride or HF getting released after the explosion. Thankfully, that was not an issue.
I do some safety instructing part-time, and often enough industrial accidents like the one at Husky Energy get brought up in the interest of discussion. We generally discuss accidents where fatalities were involved as a learning lesson, but even one like Husky with only injuries is worth a conversation.
From firefighters I know were on-site that April day, and also contract workers, I've heard good things about the safety protocols at the facility. Protocols like what a worker is supposed to do in the event of an emergency. It's quite possible those protocols saved lives by people knowing where to go and what to do when things started going boom.
The Chemical Safety Board does great work investigating accidents and mishaps at various industrial facilities around the country, and the put together a great video about the Husky Refinery explosion.
It's just a smidgen over five minutes long and hopefully will answer any questions you might have about what happened pretty close to home for some of us back in 2018.