Mayor Paine Releases an Update Regarding Community Concerns Over Hydrogen Fluoride

SUPERIOR, Wis. – Superior Mayor Jim Paine released an update this afternoon regarding the communities concern of the use of Hydrogen Fluoride at the Husky Energy refinery as well as updates about the progress and improvements of the plant moving forward:

“I just spoke with the officers of Husky Energy including Rob Peabody, President and CEO, and Rob Symonds, COO. We discussed the use of Hydrogen Fluoride at the refinery and I forwarded many of the concerns that our community has expressed about the use of this dangerous chemical in the community. I asked them to discontinue its use and convert to a safer chemical process and to report back to me on any and all cost and infrastructure challenges that might prevent them from doing so. In the meantime, I asked them to disclose all of the safety measures they had and still have in place that prevent this chemical from harming the public as well as any other relevant facts regarding HF so that the public can remain informed during this debate.
I have asked Husky to commit to full transparency during their own and the several independent investigations and they have agreed. They have also committed to providing counseling and mental health services to those members of the community that may have been affected by the incident, especially children and the Husky employees and contractors.
I asked them to confirm a working number for any person to submit claims related to the incident including, but not limited to, transportation, lodging, and lost wages. That number is
1-855-527-5002
I asked if citizens would be required to sign a release of liability and how long they would be required to wait for reimbursement. They are not asking for release of liability and in many cases, reimbursement can take place immediately via direct deposit.
Most importantly, Husky Energy and its officers committed to an open and ongoing relationship with the people of Superior. They intend to rebuild and operate the Superior Refinery. They intend to make whole any person or property damaged by the incident. They intend to discover and report what happened and prevent any similar incident from happening again. I will take them at their word but I will also follow up with your questions and concerns as well as my own in the coming days, weeks, and months.”

Last week an explosion at the Husky Energy refinery plant injured at least 16 people and forced an evacuation for Superior residents.