Report

Subject:                     Explosion Rocks Sunoco Facility In Delaware

Date of Email report:   Mon 18/05/200

Report Detail:

A company official says a fire has been contained after an explosion at a Sunoco Inc. oil refinery on the Delaware River.  Residents in the Marcus Hook area began reporting hearing explosions from the refinery and claimed they could see smoke in the sky just before 10 p.m. Sunday.  Officials report that an explosion did occur at the ethylene plant on the Sunoco compound in New Castle County, Delaware. Company spokesman Thomas Golembeski says all workers have been accounted for and that the company is monitoring air conditions every hour. He says readings indicate the situation is safe for the surrounding area.

Officials said the fire was contained to the Delaware side of the Delaware-Pennsylvania border and no evacuations were necessary in either state.  An EPA report says the frontage of the refinery extends approximately 4,800 feet along the northern banks of the Delaware River. The facility is bordered by industrial land use and commercial/residential properties.  "Everything is contained on site, which means there is no environmental impact that folks will have to be concerned with in this general vicinity," Delaware State Police Cpl. Jeffrey Whitmarsh said. The amount of damage to the refinery's ethylene unit is not yet known. He said Monday morning the company was working with its two other refineries upriver in Philadelphia and Westville, N.J. to meet customer demands. There is no word on what caused the explosions.

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