The Minnesota Senate passed a bill on Monday requiring the use of skilled contractors at petroleum refineries.
Authored by Minnesota Sen. Judy Seeberger, the bill requires at least 30 percent of refinery workers to be trained through an apprenticeship program.
“Refineries are inherently dangerous facilities with high stakes if something goes wrong, and we’ve seen all too clearly the risks from accidents that have occurred in recent weeks,” said Seeberger, a Democrat who represents District 41, in a news release.
A Marathon Petroleum refinery in St. Paul Park spilled around 20,000 gallons of hot liquid asphalt at the end of March when contractors were performing routine maintenance.
Two contractors were taken to the hospital with asphalt burns and released later the same day, according to a statement from Marathon.
“While we cannot guarantee the prevention of accidents, we can ensure that we are doing everything we can to make sure the workers at these facilities have the best training available to them,” Seeberger said in the release.
The bill passed 39-27 and its companion legislation has yet to be voted on by the Minnesota House of Representatives.
