First Posted: 1/20/2015
LIMA — More than a week after a unit at the Husky Lima Refinery exploded, the refinery is beginning to ramp up production again.
At about 6 a.m. Jan. 10, an explosion of an isocracker unit at the refinery exploded, causing the area to shake many residents awake and startled.
Mel Duvall, Husky Energy representative, said the plant “began the process of restarting units at the refinery over the weekend” and the plant expects “operations to steadily ramp up through the week.”
A repair plan for the isocracker unit is in place, Duvall said, however there is no exact time frame as to when it will be completed. Duvall said the refinery is able to operate without the isocracker unit. What caused the explosion was still under investigation.
There were no injuries as a result of the explosion.
After the explosion, multiple emergency management departments tested the air quality near the refinery, including the Allen County Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Director Russ Decker said in a previous interview.
Decker said after the many agencies tested the air quality, all readings of the samples read negative for dangerous chemicals. Decker said neither the incident nor any byproduct of the incident was harmful to residents.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is to release the results of the samplings, however the agency did not return multiple phone calls seeking comment Tuesday.
