Exxon's Joliet oil refinery releases gases on equipment failure

Exxon Mobil Corp.'s Joliet refinery in Illinois released gases from a flare stack because of equipment malfunction, according to a filing with the National Response Center.

The cause was due to the facility going to flare and it was a faulty valve that has been replaced, the filing showed.

U.S. refineries must notify the response center if they release hazardous substances in excess of reportable quantities, according to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, commonly known as Superfund.

Bloomberg News couldn't immediately verify that the information in the NRC filing was accurate.