Irving Oil Limited has been fined $200,000 after pleading guilty to a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, laid last year in connection with the Oct. 8, 2018 refinery explosion.

Court documents show 1,500 workers were on site that day.

According to the statement of facts, 80 workers from 17 different employers reported injuries.



Most were injured as a result of falling or running away from the fire.



The most serious physical injury was a broken heel bone, according to the statement of facts filed in Saint John's provincial court.





Other injuries included psychological stress and smoke inhalation.



Of the 80 workers who said they were harmed, 36 had injuries that resulted in time lost from work.



The cause of the fire was traced back to a corroded pipe in an area of the refinery known as the hydrogen desulfurization unit or HDS.



The pipe was installed in 1974.



And during an upgrade project that started in 2004, the HDS "created conditions that allowed localized corrosion to occur within the pipe."



"Although an inspection of the system was in place to detect corrosion, the localized nature of corrosion allowed the area to go undetected."



The pipe ruptured without warning and discharged a flammable mixture that ignited.

Further to the statement, Irving Oil inspected all similar pipes for localized corrosion and no similar conditions were found.

The company says it has also increased corrosion monitoring.