Ashland Oil Inc.: Trouble At Floreffe

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acted the local Fire Marshal’s office to verify if a permit was on file for the tank. Information had come back that no permit or a request for a permit was on file for the faulty tank. After further investigation, it was revealed that the documentation provided by Ashland personnel was actually a statement from a different agency acknowledging that construction was underway. Also, a press member was equipped with a copy of the American Petroleum Industry (API) standard 650 (the industry guideline for proper testing of oil tanks), and was inquiring if the tank had been properly tested. This test makes sure that all tanks are filled completely full with water in order to settle their foundations and test the welds for strength.

Later that day, Hall had discovered that the tank had not been properly tested by the API 650 Standards, but was tested with an alternate method. Oil had been sprayed on the welds inside the tank and vacuum suction was applied from the outside to determine if any oil could be pulled through possible leaks in the wel...