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Air emissions after the fire that broke out on Monday at the Petromidia Refinery pose no threat to the life of the employees, the communities near the refinery or seaside tourists, refinery operator Rompetrol said in a statement to Agerpres on Tuesday. "According to air emission measurements performed following the event, no values were registered to point to a threat to the life of the employees, the communities near the refinery or tourists vacationing at the seaside, which is certified by chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear analyses," the statement said.
The team of experts set up by the company is looking into the circumstances that led to the incident, to determine its causes, Rompetrol officials said. Refinery representatives also provided the authorities with all the necessary documents for the investigations to be carried out as per the requirements of the law. "Our company complies with the legislation in force on work safety and protection, as well as with the existing regulations in the field of environmental protection," Rompetrol officials say.
The Petromidia refinery is running at reduced capacity. "The entire team of our company expresses its profound sorrow for the loss of our colleague, I.B, following the Monday event, August 22, on the Petromidia platform. In this difficult period, we are together with the families of our colleagues. The management of the company was in close contact with their families during the night, as well as with the medics. The representatives of our company showed their availability in offering the full support for the treatment of the injured, as well as the availability to cover all the costs needed for the transfer abroad, if the medics decide this is necessary," reads the release.
Constanta prosecutors have opened a criminal case against Petromidia Navodari Refinery after a fire occurred Monday afternoon at its premises that injured four, one of whom died Tuesday morning of burns. "Investigations are being conducted for unintentional bodily harm, manslaughter, failure to take the legal occupational safety and health measures and violation of the legal occupational safety and health measures. Initial investigations have found that on August 22, 2016 around 18:00hrs, a team of workers were conducting repair works on a pipeline carrying heated crude vacuum distillate, when a fire broke out," informs a press statement of the Prosecution Office with the Supreme Court of Justice and Cassation on Tuesday. According to the source, the Prosecutor's Office with the Constanta Court of Appeal took over the case built by the Prosecution Office with the Constanta Court. "Two prosecutors of the Constanta County Prosecution went to the scene in the evening and investigations were resumed today by an officer of the Prosecutor's Office with the Constanta Court of Appeal, who coordinates a joint team of police officers and forensic experts. Investigations continue in order to clarify all the factual circumstances and determine the criminal liability in the case," the statement says.
Four persons were injured Monday in an explosion at the Petromidia Refinery, and they were taken to Bucharest hospitals by ambulance. Two victims who are being treated at the Burn Hospital in Bucharest are in stable condition and might undergo surgery on Wednesday, while another one at the Bagdasar-Arseni Hospital is stable, but still on a ventilator. A fourth man injured in the blast died Tuesday morning at the Bagdasar-Arseni Hospital.
