by the Washington Research Council, August 2010

Washington’s five petroleum refiners provided more than 30,000 jobs and 1.7 billion dollars in personal income for Washington State in 2009. The following report from the Washington Research Council describes the refining industry and explains how the 2,040 full-time direct refinery jobs impact the state’s economy.

ANACORTES, WA – August 25, 2010 – The surrounding community may have noticed smoke rising from the Puget Sound Refinery this morning.  At approximately 10:00am today a piece of equipment experienced a seal leak.  All non-essential personel were evacuated from the afected unit, and the on-site emergency response teams were activated as a precaution.

All refinery personnel were accounted for, and there was no impact to the surrounding community.  We anticipate minimal impact to refinery production.

All media inquiries relating to this incident should be directed to Shell Puget Sound Refinery public information officer Jody Barnett, who can be reached at (360) 293-0845.