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(Updates with BP statement, paragraph 4)
By Erwin Seba
HOUSTON, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Trial began on Wednesday in thefirst four of 48,000 civil lawsuits filed against BP Plc for pollution from the 460,196 barrel per day (bpd) refinery itowned in Texas City, Texas until early this year, according tocourt documents.
The four suits allege that people were harmed when therefinery released vapors into the atmosphere from itshydrocracking unit during a 40-day period in 2010. The city hada population of 45,099 in 2010, according to the U.S. Census.
Since the first lawsuits were filed in 2010, the British oilcompany has denied the claims that people were harmed by theemissions, which included 17,000 pounds of benzene, according to notices filed by the refinery with Texas pollution regulators.
BP said in a statement on Wednesday that: "Neither thecommunity air-monitoring network nor the BP fence-line monitorsshowed elevated readings during April and May 2010 and we do notbelieve that any negative health impacts resulted from flaringat BP's Texas City refinery during this period."
The four plaintiffs whose cases began on Wednesday areseeking compensation of $200,000 each from BP. All 48,000plaintiffs in the refinery lawsuits also are seeking a singlepunitive claim of $10 billion that would be donated to charity.
In 2011, BP paid $50 million to settle a lawsuit by TexasAttorney General Greg Abbott over pollution from the refinerybetween 2005 and 2011.
BP ALSO FACES SUITS OVER OIL SPILL
BP may find itself mounting defenses to court casesinvolving the refinery in Texas at the same time that it defendsitself from suits in Louisiana stemming from the biggestoffshore oil spill in U.S. history.
The second phase of its court case over the 2010 explosionof the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and rupture of BP'sMacondo oil well in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico will start laterthis month in New Orleans.
BP has already incurred about $42.4 billion of charges onits balance sheet related to the oil spill that followed theexplosion in which 11 people died.
In recent months, the company has filed numerous motions andappeals to slow or halt payouts under a settlement agreement itsigned to compensate people harmed by the Gulf spill. BP hascomplained that the process was being mismanaged by the claimsadministrator and costing the company more than expected.
BP has also filed a suit against the U.S. government afterit was excluded from bidding for new federal contracts.
TEXAS CITY REFINERY HAS BEEN SOLD
The Texas City refinery cases are being tried in Galvestonby the Texas state court of the 56th Judicial District.
In 2005, 15 workers were killed and 170 others injured by anexplosion at the Texas City refinery. Federal investigationsfound BP had poorly maintained the plant. The company paid $2.1billion to settle 4,000 lawsuits stemming from the blast.
BP sold the Texas City refinery and related assets on Feb. 1to Marathon Petroleum Corp for $2.5 billion. (Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Terry Wade and DavidGregorio)
