Galveston, TX: Eight contractors who allege their health has been seriously compromised from exposure to Benzene resulting from a leak at a BP refinery in Texas City, have filed a $500 million lawsuit against BP Products North America Inc and Pasadena Tank Corp.
The suit claims that the complainants "were injured and had his or her long-term health put in jeopardy after being exposed to extremely high levels of benzene" while working at BP's Texas City refinery on August 19, 2009.
Each of the eight plaintiffs claim that their work area was completely saturated by a strong odor, the source of which was found to be a broken pipe. "Upon seeing the source of the leak, the plaintiffs quickly evacuated the area," the suit says.
Court papers show the workers experienced various symptoms and sought medical treatment. Physicians informed them that they were exposed to benzene. "Despite the fact plaintiffs reported the actual volume of benzene that was spilled, BP, as has been its custom, minimized the leak and release, and its effects in both its internal documentation, as well as the documentation with the authorities," the original petition says.
The petition alleges that BP failed to properly inspect, maintain and repair its piping and vessels and neglected to supervise those from Pasadena Tank, with whom it contracted to perform the work.
