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Silver Eagle Refinery Explosion Lawyers

Did you sustain property damage or financial losses due to the massive explosion at the Silver Eagle Refinery in Woods Cross, Utah? The November 4, 2009 explosion at the Silver Eagle Refinery, about five miles north of Salt Lake City, severely damaged at least 10 homes - knocking as many as three from their foundations. The blast created a huge fireball, which sent flames as high as 100 feet in the air.

Federal investigators determined that the Silver Eagle Refinery explosion occurred due to the "catastrophic failure" of a 10-inch pipe filled with pressurize hydrogen.   Our Silver Eagle Refinery explosion lawyers are already aggressively investigating this accident, and we are determined to make sure the parties at fault are held accountable for the losses suffered by those living near the facility. 

We are offering free case evaluations to anyone who was affected by the Silver Eagle Refinery explosion in Utah. If you or a member of your family were impacted by this accident, you may be eligible for compensation. Please contact one of our Silver Eagle Refinery explosion lawyers right away to protect your legal rights.

Silver Eagle Refinery Explosion

The Silver Eagle Refinery explosion occurred on November 4, shortly after 9:00 a.m. MST. The explosion at the 10,250 barrel-per-day refinery sparked a fire that burned until later that day.

No one was injured as a result of the Silver Eagle Refinery explosion; however, property damage was severe. The explosion caused a brief power outage that affected three nearby refineries. Some residents said the tremors created by the explosion knocked them out of their beds.

Some homes in Woods Cross were separated from the refinery by only a sound wall and railroad track. The neighborhood directly east of the Silver Eagle Refinery was hardest hit by the blast.

The Silver Eagle Refinery explosion damaged at least 10 homes, and some were knocked off their foundations from the force of the blast. Other damage to property included smashed windows, bent garage doors and peeled siding.

It was extremely fortunate that no one was injured as a result of the Silver Eagle Refinery explosion. Five workers were inside the unit just minutes before the blast, and the unit they had been working in was immediately engulfed in flames. The explosion created a huge fireball, and flames shot at least 100 feet into the air. 

A team from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board has determined that the cause of the Silver Eagle Refinery explosion was a "catastrophic failure" of a 10-inch pipe that contained more than 600 lbs of pressurized hydrogen. The pipe ruptured, spewing the 800-degree hydrogen east toward a nearby neighborhood.

The pipe was attached to a reactor that removes waxes from diesel fuel. The pipe normally carries diesel and hydrogen, but the refinery was performing maintenance at the time of the failure and only hydrogen was in the pipe.   It is not yet known why the pipe suffered such a failure. Refineries are supposed to monitor the integrity of piping, and investigators said they would inquire whether that monitoring occurred at Silver Eagle.

The November 4 explosion was not the first accident at the Silver Eagle Refinery. A chemical storage tank caught fire after a build up of vapors on January 12, 2009. Four workers were badly burned. In August, 2008, a piping structure caught fire. There were at least three other large fires between 2003 and 2007. No one was injured in any of those incidents.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration records show a planned inspection of Silver Eagle Refinery turned up ten serious violations in 2004. There was one complaint that led to a fine in 2002.

Questions have also been raise about the development of a residential neighborhood so close to the Silver Eagle Refinery. Minutes from Woods Cross city council meetings in 2002 indicate that two separate independent studies where done on the area--one by the developer and one commissioned by the city.  Both engineering studies reported that the subdivision would be outside the blast zone.

Legal Help for Victims of the Silver Eagle Refinery Explosion

It could be many months before all of the parties responsible for the Silver Eagle Refinery explosion are identified. However, now is the time to make sure that your legal rights and those of your family are protected. Our Silver Eagle Refinery explosion lawyers are working right now to make sure those responsible for this disaster are held accountable for the damage it caused.

If you or someone you love were impacted by the Silver Eagle Refinery explosion, we urge you to contact us to explore the legal remedies available to you. Please fill out our online form, or call 1-800 LAW INFO (1-800-529-4636) to discuss your case with one of our Silver Eagle Refinery explosion lawyers right away.