EPA Reaches Historic $4.2M Settlement Over 2019 Philadelphia Refinery Explosion

The settlement addresses safety failures leading to the explosion at the largest East Coast oil refinery, which closed after the incident.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a tentative $4.2 million settlement with Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES) for the 2019 refinery explosion.
The settlement is the largest ever sought for a refinery under a Clean Air Act rule, emphasizing the importance of managing hazardous substances safely.
The explosion was caused by a corroded pipe elbow in a hydrofluoric acid unit, which PES failed to identify as a hazard.
The refinery, operational for 150 years and processing 335,000 barrels of crude oil daily, was forced to close after the incident.
The site is being redeveloped into industrial space and life sciences labs, under a cleanup agreement overseen by the EPA and state authorities.