By Life Quotes, Inc. Staff

Deadly accidents have propelled the oil refinery industry into the headlines.

In April 2010, five people were killed in a chemical explosion while working at a Tesoro plant in Washington state, according to a report by the Associated Press. Another individual suffered burns to 75 percent of his body and was placed in a medically induced coma.

This follows an April 2009 discovery that the company had some 17 health and safety violations, for which it was fined $85,700.

These are among the more than 1,000 violations found industry-wide after federal officials made efforts to improve refinery safety in 2007. Before that, some 15 people were killed and 170 injured during an explosion at BP American in 2005, according to the report.

“The Friday blast occurred as employees were doing maintenance work on a unit that processes highly flammable liquid derived during the refining process,” the report says.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration Chief and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor, David Michaels, tells the wire service that the employees had not been operating equipment properly and that the Tesoro refinery had a low injury rate. Still, those working in oil refineries may want to protect their family’s financial well-being by investing in a life insurance policy.

This article was originally published by Life Quotes, Inc.