BP sued in Texas

Anthony Buzbee, a Houston attorney, has filed two lawsuits against the company - one a class-action suit brought on behalf of about 2,200 people claiming they were adversely affected by the emissions, which also included carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides.

The suit is seeking $10 billion in damages.

Buzbee also filed a separate suit last week on behalf of the mother of Julius Provost, a six-month old infant who died on June 23 of pneumonia. The suit claims that the child died because of exposure to benzene from the refinery's emissions.

BP has declined comment on the lawsuits.

BP reported the April 6 event to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality which body, after an investigation, turned the matter over the state AG.

According to the AG, a hydrocracker unit malfunctioned on April 6 and caught fire. BP workers shut it down and routed escaping gases to flares. Rather than shut down associated units while compressor repairs were made, BP chose to keep operating those other units, which led to the unlawful release of contaminants.

"BP decided to continue those units so as not to reduce productivity," the AG's complaint  said.  "BP made very little attempt to minimize the emission of air contaminants caused by its actions, once again prioritizing profits over environmental compliance."

The people in the area did not know that the refinery flares were releasing contaminants into the air, authorities said.

The state's investigation showed that BP's failure to properly maintain its equipment caused the malfunction and could have been prevented. BP's own self-reporting data indicate that seal filters protecting the compressor failed because of an iron sulfide buildup, likely because BP failed to properly maintain these devices, authorities said.