Canadian refinery potentially at risk from earthquake

Structures at the Chevron oil refinery in Burnaby, British Colombia would not withstand an earthquake according to a seismic assessment conducted by the company’s engineers a year ago.

Key facilities, including the on site firehouse, the main office and the training centre would collapse immediately. Other buildings, such as the maintenance and control houses would suffer major and irreparable damage. The refinery’s processors, located on the south shore of Burrard Inlet, were not included in the assessment, but are due to be appraised shortly.

A CAN$ 5 million plan to retrofit the plant by 2015 is now in place. Some changes have already been made, including moving staff and firefighting equipment away from dangerous buildings and checking to ensure machinery that operates the refinery is up to code.

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/17032011/canadian_refinery_potentially_at_risk_from_earthquake/