One dead, three injured following incident at Valero’s Memphis refinery

MEMPHIS — One person died and three others — including two firefighters — were injured Monday after being exposed to hazardous chemicals at the Valero Energy Corp.’s Memphis refinery, The Commercial Appeal reported.

According to a statement from San Antonio-based Valero, two workers were injured when sight glass at the plant’s alkylation unit shattered, releasing a mixture of propane and hydrofluoric acid.

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One of the employees was transported to the Regional Medical Center at Memphis and later died.

Two firefighters responding to the scene were also hospitalized for chemical exposure.

Valero said there was no expected environmental impact to neighboring communities from this incident, and refinery operations were not affected.

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