TOLEDO, Ohio — A new report from the Wall Street Journal has detailed the 2022 refinery explosion that killed two Oregon men.
Ben and Max Morrissey were killed Sept. 20, 2022, in a fire at the former BP-Husky oil refinery in Oregon.
After their deaths, federal authorities cited BP Products North America for "serious violations" and proposed over $150,000 in fines after finding training and operational deficiencies contributed to the explosion that killed the men. The company has contested the citation and fine.
The Wall Street Journal published a story Sunday about the Morrissey brothers and how the explosion that killed them is part of a larger issue with the safety at aging U.S. refineries. There has not been a new refinery built in this country since the 1970s and many, including the Oregon facility, are more than 100 years old.
"The costly work of maintaining refineries dropped off sharply in 2020 as Covid-19 stifled fuel demand. Refineries postponed planned maintenance and improvement projects—first during Covid and then amid supply-chain disruptions and pressure to ramp back up to take advantage of high profits from resurgent demand. Shareholders in big oil companies and refinery operators were hungry for cash following huge losses in 2020," according to the Wall Street Journal story.
The Morrissey brothers' parents, wives and co-workers talked with reporters for the story about the explosion and what life has been like for them since the men died.
"Our lives are just changed forever," their mother, Patty Morrissey, said.
WTOL 11 also spoke with the Morrissey family in September, one year after the explosion.
"How have I gone 365 days without Max? I cannot figure it out," Darah Morrissey said. "I have to explain to a 3- and a 5-year-old when they ask 'where's daddy?' he's never coming back."
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