BAYTOWN, Texas — Exxon said it plans to appeal a ruling that awarded more than $28 million to five workers who were injured in an explosion at a Baytown plant in 2019.
Last week, a jury granted $28,951,000 to five plant workers who were injured in an explosion at the ExxonMobil Baytown Olefins Plant on July 31, 2019.
On Tuesday, Exxon said it made safety improvements in the wake of the explosion. In a statement, Exxon said it is "sympathetic to the plaintiffs," but intends to appeal the ruling.
According to ExxonMobil.com, the Baytown Olefins Plant began operations in 1979. It is one of the largest ethylene plants in the world.
The plant has a number of air violations dating back to the 1990s. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has fined the Olefins Plant at least 22 times in the last 13 years for nearly $1 million. Half a million dollars came from an incident in 2009.
In the past eight years, the Environmental Protection Agency cited the plant for high-risk violations for breaching the Clean Air Act. Those violations cost the plant just under $20,000. Another EPA case resulted in a $2,500 penalty.
In 2010, the Sierra Club filed a lawsuit to keep Exxon from expanding the facility.
Just after the incident, Jason Duncan, the plant's manager, said the fire was the result of an explosion that happened in one of the units at ExxonMobil's facility on Decker Drive. Sixty-six people sought a medical evaluation at the Houston Area Safety Council. Thirty-seven people were treated for non-life threatening injuries, including first-degree burns, Duncan said at the time of the explosion.