MarkWest isolates Ethane, Propane and Butanes from “Wet” Natural Gas
From an Article by Pittsburgh Post Gazette, December 14, 2018
Four people remain hospitalized, one in critical condition, after an explosion at a Washington County gas processing plant Thursday night.
The explosion involved two storage tanks at the MarkWest Energy facility at 800 Western Ave., in Houston, Pa. It was reported at 6:03 p.m. and the fire brought under control within an hour, according to county emergency officials.
All of the injured workers suffered burns. Two were flown to UPMC Mercy, including one person who was in critical condition Friday morning, officials said. The other two injured were flown to West Penn Hospital.
Nine fire departments and three EMS crews responded, as did the county’s hazmat unit. No homes were evacuated.
A MarkWest official said in a statement that the explosion occurred “near two temporary tanks that were on-site for routine maintenance, resulting in a fire.”
“Although the processing plant was not involved in the incident, it was shut down as a precaution and at this time there are no off-site impacts,” the statement read. “Agency notifications have been made and an investigation into the cause of this event is underway. Our prayers are with our injured colleagues and their families.”
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From WTAE Action 4 News:
The Marathon Petroleum Corporation issued the following statement:
“At approximately 6 p.m. local time, the MarkWest processing plant in Houston, Pennsylvania, experienced an incident near two temporary tanks that were on-site for routine maintenance, resulting in a fire. There were injuries and four individuals have been transported to area hospitals. Local fire departments responded and the fire has been extinguished. The processing plant has been shut down as a precaution and at this time there were no off-site impacts. Agency notifications have been made and an investigation into the cause of this event is underway. Our prayers are with our injured colleagues and their families.”
A spokesperson for the PA Department of Environmental Protection told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 a team did respond to the site. Crews investigated and determined chemicals from the foam used by firefighters to put out the fire did not leak into any nearby water supply.
The PA-DEP said the company has until January 15 to submit a report detailing the incident.
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