Texas City Trial Headlines (Broadcast Site)

Texas City Trial Headlines (Broadcast Site) http://texascityexplosion.com Texas City Trial Headlines RSS Feed from Broadcast Site en-us All Rights Reserved. © Copyright IBCTV 2010 Fri, 26 Mar 2010 14:50:50 CDT Fri, 26 Mar 2010 14:50:50 CDT Broadcast Site Texas City Trial HeadlinesRudy Lombergerrlomberger@ibctv.com Reminders of death linger 5 years after BP blast http://texascityexplosion.com/site/headlines?post_id=831 Broadcast Site Reminders of death linger 5 years after BP blast 00:00 Reminders of death linger 5 years after BP blast Originally posted by Loren Steffy - Houston Chronicle - March 22, 2010 The pipes still hang like old shoelaces around the perimeter of the site, melted from the heat and bent by the blast five years ago. Metal struts jut from the concrete slab, a reminder of trailers that were temporary meeting rooms one minute, a deathtrap the next. Rusty Norman was one of the first emergency workers to reach the carnage. He had just entered BP's sprawling Texas City refinery on the sunny morning of March 23, 2005, when an explosion ripped through the isomerization unit, which boosts octane in gasoline. He spent the day aiding survivors and locating bodies of the 15 workers who died at the blast site. BP only recently recovered control of the isom unit, now that federal investigations and private litigation are resolved. The company will demolish the scorched and battered equipment and leave the site vacant, at least for now, refinery manager Keith Casey told me Wednesday. That, he said, will be a sign of healing, proof that BP is finally coming to terms with its troubled past. Even so, the isom unit remains hallowed ground for workers like Norman, who started at the refinery 33 years ago, when he was 21. “I still come by here every so often and think about what happened,” he said. “You need that sometimes to remind yourself why we're doing the things we're doing.” Few events have changed a company — indeed, an industry — the way the 2005 Texas City explosion changed BP. Since the disaster, the company has spent more than $1 billion on improvements at the refinery, and continues to invest more. It's spent another $1 billion or so settling about 1,000 civil lawsuits filed by the more than 170 workers injured in the blast and by families of the dead. <h3 id="id2444996" class="Text-TextSubhed BoldCond PoynterAgateZero">Trailers moved out</h3> Most of the dead were meeting in temporary trailers adjacent to the isom unit when it blew up. Now, BP and most other refiners have removed trailers from inside refineries. “Throughout the industry, there's a much keener appreciation for the location of these trailers,” said Brent Coon, the Beaumont lawyer who handled many of the civil cases against BP. “We hope they stay out and that people don't forget why they took them out in the first place.” BP also replaced aging “blow-down drums,” one of which spewed the fluid that led to the 2005 explosion, with flares that would have prevented the accident. More than 60 percent of the 2,200 BP workers employed at the refinery are new since the disaster, including Casey. In the wake of the tragedy, BP's management structure was upended, resulting in changes to the upper echelon of both its division in the U.S. and its corporate headquarters in London. Lord John Browne, BP's CEO at the time and one of the U.K.'s most renowned businessmen, was forced to resign in part because of investigations that blamed the explosion on BP's culture. “Its impact was profound,” said Mark Farley, a lawyer with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman in Houston, who worked on the staff of a panel led by former Secretary of State James A. Baker III that investigated the cause of the explosion. “Those systems require constant vigilance. You start to think you've got it fixed, and eventually you start to focus on other things. If you let your focus wander too far, you're system starts to slip without your realizing it.” The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board found in 2007 that the explosion resulted from a lethal combination of cost-cutting, a lack of investment in training and mechanical systems and a lack of vigilance in maintaining safety procedures. The company has implemented sweeping changes in process safety procedures and revamped how it operates refineries. Many of those changes have been adopted by BP's rivals as well. The question that continues to dog BP and the refining industry: Has it done enough? It has rejected, for example, a Chemical Safety board recommendation that it add a process safety expert to its board of directors. <h3 id="id2436820" class="Text-TextSubhed BoldCond PoynterAgateZero">More fatalities at plant</h3> Refinery accidents still occur with greater frequency than at other complex and dangerous industries' facilities such as nuclear power plants. “If the airline industry was having the same number of accidents as the refinery industry, I don't think too many people would be flying,” said John Bresland, chairman of the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. Three more workers have died at the BP refinery in other accidents since the 2005 explosion. Late last year, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration proposed an $87 million fine, saying the company hadn't made all the required safety upgrades under an agreement BP signed after the explosion. The agency also found more than 400 “willful” safety violations at the plant. BP is contesting the findings, claiming it has met the terms of safety requirements. Workers who don't need to be inside the refinery — about 450 of them — now work at a nearby office site. All meetings are held in a single blast-proof building at the refinery's edge. New control systems include “pre-emptive monitoring,” allowing operators to see pressure problems and other discrepancies building before an alarm sounds and giving them more time to avert disaster. <h3 id="id2447451" class="Text-TextSubhed BoldCond PoynterAgateZero">‘I own the future'</h3> Casey was hired by BP in the fall of 2006 to take over operations of the refinery. He came in with a simple motto: “Somebody else owns the past; I own the future.” Yet almost every decision he's made since then has been defined by the refinery's past. Barely a year after taking over, he went before a judge and pleaded guilty on behalf of the company to a felony violation of the Clean Air Act, agreed to three years probation and the settlement to which OSHA now claims the company isn't adhering. Barely a year after taking over, he went before a judge and pleaded guilty on behalf of the company to a felony violation of the Clean Air Act, agreed to three years probation and the settlement to which OSHA now claims the company isn't adhering. Has BP done enough? Casey and Bresland, the Chemical Safety board chairman, agree that question can be answered only with time and “silent running” — good performance without accidents. While union workers and others praise BP's efforts to improve its operations since the explosion and address the lapses that led to the tragedy, BP can't escape the ugly truth: without the 15 deaths, the company wouldn't have fixed what was wrong. “It took the explosion,” said Gary Beevers, international vice president for the United Steelworkers union, which represents more than 1,000 workers at the refinery. “As this industry has shown, it takes something terrible for changes to happen.” http://texascityexplosion.com/site/headlines?post_id=831 Broadcast Site Cost cutting causes worry about refinery safety http://texascityexplosion.com/site/headlines?post_id=830 Broadcast Site Cost cutting causes worry about refinery safety 00:00 Cost cutting causes worry about refinery safety Originally posted by Brett Clanton - Houston Chronicle - March 22, 2010 A deadly explosion at BP's Texas City refinery five years ago today did more than force the British oil giant to upgrade the plant, pay millions to settle lawsuits and shift its thinking about safety. The tragic event “fundamentally changed BP,” said Keith Casey, BP's Texas City refinery manager. But there are questions about whether a new wave of cost-cutting by BP and other oil refiners, struggling amid the worst conditions for the business in decades, could push corporate survival to the forefront and relegate safety to a back burner. “Right now, it's sort of an unknown,” said Joe Howicz, a retired safety trainer with the U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration who worked on refinery safety programs at the agency after the BP blast. “How is it going to affect safety if they go through another cycle of closing refineries and reducing capacity and downsizing staff and money for operations?” Refining profits have plunged amid higher oil prices and as the weak economy stunts demand for transportation fuels, forcing some refiners to cut output, close plants and slash staff. Chevron Corp. said this month it will cut 2,000 refining and marketing jobs worldwide and plans to sell a British refinery, while Shell said it will cut 2,000 global jobs, mainly in refining, by the end of 2011, and may close or sell European refineries. Independent U.S. refiners Valero Energy and Sunoco also have sold or closed plants recently. BP has no plans to close refineries, but has cut 4,500 jobs in its refining and marketing division in last two years and reduced cash costs last year by 15 percent. It now aims to get the unit's costs below 2004 levels, or another $1.5 billion, with a focus on its U.S. operations, division CEO Iain Conn said earlier this month in a presentation to investors. In a 2007 report, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board found BP fostered bad management at the plant and that cost-cutting moves by BP were factors in the Texas City explosion. The Chemical Safety board pushed OSHA for stricter oversight of refinery safety on several fronts. And it warned that safety regulators should keep tabs on how corporate downsizing could affect safety, said Howicz. BP officials insist, however, say corporate turnaround efforts launched with the arrival of CEO Tony Hayward in 2007 have not come at the expense of safety. They say BP has elevated the role of safety in operations while making the company more efficient. In Texas City, for instance, the recordable injury rate has declined every year since 2005, and the refinery finished 2009 with a safety performance that placed it among industry leaders, the company said. <h3 id="id2437827" class="Text-TextSubhed BoldCond PoynterAgateZero">Lives lost since 2005</h3> Even so, five more lives have been lost at BP refineries since the 2005 disaster, including three at Texas City. By comparison, the nation's other 146 refineries together had nine fatal incidents from 2005 to 2008. BP says it's taken direct steps in Texas City to address unsafe conditions that contributed to the blast, including the removal of portable buildings from process areas, replacement of outdated blowdown drums with safer flare systems to get rid of excess vapors and refurbishment of major process units. The changes have been physical, such as spending more than $1 billion to upgrade the Texas City plant, as well as systemic, like addressing the broken culture that contributed to the tragedy. The aftermath of the BP disaster also helped usher in several important reforms by the broader U.S. refining industry. “It was obviously a major catastrophe for BP, but it also wakened the industry to what could happen to them. It pushed them in the right direction,” said John Bresland, chairman of the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. <h3 id="id2439936" class="Text-TextSubhed BoldCond PoynterAgateZero">Finding by OSHA</h3> The March 23, 2005, explosion at the BP plant occurred after a blowdown drum overfilled with highly flammable liquid hydro-carbons. The excess liquid and vapor hydrocarbons were vented from the drum and ignited at the startup of the isomerization unit — a device that boosts the octane in gasoline. Alarms and gauges that were supposed to warn of the overfilled equipment did not work properly. The resulting explosion killed 15 workers, most of them in a trailer parked close to the unit, and injured scores more. Despite the ignominy the accident brought to BP, OSHA said in October that BP still hadn't done enough to fix problems in Texas City. Citing “systemic safety problems,” the agency proposed $87 million in fines against the company for failing to make safety upgrades required under a settlement agreement with the agency following the blast, as well as for new safety violations. BP is contesting the decision. <h3 id="id2433742" class="Text-TextSubhed BoldCond PoynterAgateZero">Bottom line?</h3> Brent Coon, the Beaumont lawyer who handled many of the civil cases against BP, said the company has shown before that it is willing to scrimp when it comes to safety, saving its investments for things that improve the bottom line. He says it's a short-sighted approach. “Refineries are like cars,” he said. “You can run them without changing the oil, but sooner or later it's going to break down on you.” Business columnist Loren Steffy contributed to this report. http://texascityexplosion.com/site/headlines?post_id=830 Broadcast Site Anger lingers after fatal refinery blasts http://texascityexplosion.com/site/headlines?post_id=829 Broadcast Site Anger lingers after fatal refinery blasts 00:00 Anger lingers after fatal refinery blasts <a href="http://www.galvnews.com/contact.lasso?ewcd=2915222b1864aa2a38a9f6484a5e3b7cf297c53ddb6780e4">By T.J. Aulds</a> The Daily News Published March 24, 2010 Five years of sadness and anger were evident as David Senko read the names of the 11 contract workers he supervised at BP’s Texas City refinery. Each was among the 15 people killed on March 23, 2005, when a series of explosions ripped through the refinery. “I could not live with myself if I turned my back on these guys,” Senko, the former construction manager for BP contractor J.E. Merit, said during a commemoration event of the fatal blasts on Tuesday. “I love them and I see their faces every day. “They were all great people hurt by people, killed by people (at BP).” While the commemoration event in a law office in Houston was supposed to focus primarily on what progress had been made since the blasts shook the nation’s third-largest oil refinery five years ago, Senko’s statements were evidence that the frustration remains that BP’s top executives never were held personally accountable for what happened. “Nearly my entire project team was killed that day,” Senko said. “All the result of criminal and negligent acts of people, employees (of BP) not companies.” No Accountability While BP was found guilty in a federal case and settled more than 4,000 explosion-related lawsuits, Senko complained the company’s top brass never was held accountable even as federal, state and even BP internal investigations found the corporation’s process safety culture was severely lacking. “Not one, none, have been disciplined, fined, terminated, indicted, tried, incarcerated or held accountable in any way for their very preventable, criminal, almost murderous, event that took place five years ago,” he said. Instead, Senko said BP top executives were given promotions, bonuses or attractive retirement packages. As a result, the Texas City refinery “as far as I am concerned remains a crime scene,” he said, noting that had he not been called to a problem at another BP refinery, he would have been in Texas City the day of the explosion. Safety Culture Improved No one argued with Senko’s frustration, even as some of BP’s hardest critics acknowledged things have changed within BP. Joe Bilancich, the former head of the local chapter of the United Steelworkers, the union that represents the bulk of BP’s work force and who retired from the company last year, said he could attest that there was an increase in process safety at the refinery. “It was not as fast as employees wanted or any of us (with the union) wanted, but it was improving,” he said. Bilancich, now an industry mediation consultant, said since his retirement, he has kept tabs on the refinery through former co-workers. He said the dedication to an improved safety culture continues. Jim Lefton, the assistant regional director for the USW, said much of the improved safety commitment from the company came after management decided to partner with the union on safety programs. He said the company had accomplished nine of 10 points for improved safety at the refinery, including reducing work hours, teaming with the USW to form a process safety team and to better investigate mishaps, including near misses. The company also has updated its safety education programs and drastically improved its maintenance staffing, Lefton said. The only area lacking was partnering with environmental groups to improve the refinery’s environmental performance. Lefton said that was not the fault of the company or the union but rather finding the proper environmental groups to partner with. “Have they corrected every problem? No,” Lefton said. “Are they ever going to correct everything where it’s a perfect refinery? No. “Is this going to happen again? Yes. It may not be at BP, but it’s going to happen almost as sure as we are sitting here. “But I can honestly say that BP up to this point has done a pretty good job in terms of what they have done to correct some of the situations.” Time For Reflection As the commemoration continued in Houston, workers at BP’s Texas City refinery went about their regular work day until 1:20 p.m. — the time of the explosion five years ago — when they observed a moment of reflection, company officials said. “Not a single day goes by where we don’t think about the tragic events of the day and rededicate ourselves to being an industry leader in process safety,” BP Texas City refinery manager Keith Casey said. “We deeply regret what occurred five years ago and have since made real progress in our systematic approach to process safety and in improving the culture of our organization to see that it never happens again.” Company officials said, in addition to the $1 billion overhaul to upgrade and modernize the 76-year-old refinery, BP has reduced its risk profile materially to lessen the likelihood of a similar blast. The company points to reduced chemical emissions and a declining recordable injury rate as evidence the safety culture within the facility is far better than it was five years ago. +++ Background It was at about 1:20 p.m. on March 23, 2005, that an overflow of highly flammable material shot from a sub-unit at BP Texas City’s isomerization unit and was ignited by a truck’s idling diesel engine. That set off a cascade of explosions that leveled nearby office trailers and changed safety operations not just at BP but at similar facilities across the nation. What followed was a $1 billion overhaul of the refinery, several federal investigations that included the largest fine ever issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a criminal conviction of the company for environmental violations related to the blasts and the settlement of 4,016 explosion-related civil claims against the company. In October, OSHA proposed a new round of fines totaling $87 million and noted what it claims were 439 new “willful” violations involving pressure-release systems on units at the refinery. The company is contesting OSHA’s latest action and has asked for a review panel to take a look at the findings. +++ Those Who Died Lorena-Cruz Alexander Glenn Bolton Rafael Herrera Jr. Daniel J. Hogan III Jimmy Ray Hunnings Morris “Monk” King Larry Wayne Linsenbardt Arthur Galvan Ramos Ryan Rodriguez James Warren Rowe Linda Marie Hammer Rowe Kimberly Smith Susan Duhan Taylor Larry Sheldon Thomas Eugene White http://texascityexplosion.com/site/headlines?post_id=829 Broadcast Site BP settlement money helps with safety training http://texascityexplosion.com/site/headlines?post_id=828 Broadcast Site BP settlement money helps with safety training 00:00 BP settlement money helps with safety training Originally posted by Monica Hatcher - Houston Chronicle - March 23, 2010 It's been five years since Eva Rowe's parents, James and Linda Rowe, and 13 others were killed in the explosion at BP's Texas City refinery. After a ceremony and conference Tuesday marking the anniversary of the disaster, Rowe said she no longer thinks daily about the tragedy that took her parents' lives and that a large part of the pain had faded, though she quietly wept during parts of the event. Beaumont lawyer Brent Coon, who represented Rowe and numerous others who suffered losses in the blast, hosted the event at his firm's downtown Houston office. Rowe expressed her gratitude that numerous endowments — established with $44 million included in her settlement with the British oil company — were improving safety in the refining industry. “It brings a little bit of peace,” said Rowe, now 25, and a mother-to-be. Rowe's settlement — the total amount of which remains confidential, as do other plaintiffs' settlements — secured funds for the hefty charity program and made public more than 7 million pages of court documents that helped bring to light safety lapses that led to the blast. BP was invited to the event, Coon said, but did not send a representative. Keith Casey, manager of the Texas City refinery, issued a statement noting that workers there observed a moment of silence at 1:20 p.m., the moment of the blast on March 23, 2005. “This anniversary is a time for reflection and remembrance, but not a single day goes by where we don't think about the tragic events of the day and rededicate ourselves to being an industry leader in process safety,” Casey said. State District Judge Susan Criss, who oversaw the Rowe case and others and attended the downtown event, also gave credit to BP for agreeing to the settlement terms in Rowe's case, which Criss said allowed the industry to learn from BP's mistake and help make workplaces safer. The session Tuesday included remembrances of the victims, who died when faulty alarm equipment and gauges failed to alert plant workers to a dangerous overflow of flammable material that ignited. The session Tuesday included remembrances of the victims, who died when faulty alarm equipment and gauges failed to alert plant workers to a dangerous overflow of flammable material that ignited. And representatives from organizations that received charitable funds expressed pride in what they said has emerged as the tragedy's positive legacy, thanks to settlement proceeds they received: • • Texas A&M has educated more engineers in process safety and has launched new research into fires, explosives and fire suppression, said Dr. Sam Mannan, of the university's Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center. It got $12.5 million and $2 million for a matching grant program. • • The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, where many of the injured were taken after the explosion, has trained 30 doctors from around the world in burn and trauma treatment, and has developed new medicines, said Dr. David Herndon of UTMB, which also got $12.5 million and $2 million for a matching grant program. • • College of the Mainland, a community college in Texas City, has established the Gulf Coast Safety Institute, along with a new degree program in occupational safety and health technology, said Monica O'Neal, who directs the college's foundation. The college got $5 million and $2 million for a matching grant program. • • And seniors at Hornbeck High School, in Rowe's Louisiana hometown, are benefiting from $1 million in college scholarships. St. Jude's Hospital also received $1 million. Criss credited Rowe with courage, vision and foresight for using the money to create the endowments, but in also making sure “the world knew what happened.” “The easiest thing in the world would have been for Ms. Rowe to have taken the money — a large sum of money — and move on,” Criss said, noting how unusual it was to work out a deal where all case evidence would be released in the public domain. “There is no greater tribute that could have been paid to the 15 and to the many others that were hurt than that,” Criss said. The U.S. Chemical Statement and Hazard Investigation Board in 2007 found BP fostered bad management at the plant and that cost-cutting moves by BP were factors in the Texas City explosion. BP says it has spent $1 billion in upgrading and modernizing the Texas City refinery and is continuing to invest in plant improvements. In October, however, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration said the company had not gone far enough in complying with safety upgrades required in a separate settlement with the government. The agency is seeking $87 million in new fines. BP is contesting the decision. http://texascityexplosion.com/site/headlines?post_id=828 Broadcast Site Events mark fatal Texas City refinery explosions http://texascityexplosion.com/site/headlines?post_id=827 Broadcast Site Events mark fatal Texas City refinery explosions 00:00 Events mark fatal Texas City refinery explosions Originally posted by TJ Aulds - Galveston Daily News - March 23, 2010 TEXAS CITY, Texas — Five years after a series of explosions rocked BP’s Texas City refinery, survivors and family members of those killed will come together in Houston not only to reflect on the fatal blasts but also to mark the progress made in petrochemical plant safety across the country as a result of the lessons learned. Meanwhile, at the refinery where the explosions killed 15 contractor workers and injured more than 200 others, employees will mark the occasion with a moment of silence at the time the blasts happened. It was at about 1:20 p.m. on March 23, 2005, that an overflow of highly flammable material shot from a sub-unit at BP Texas City’s isomerization unit and was ignited by a truck’s idling diesel engine. That set off a cascade of explosions that leveled nearby office trailers and changed safety operations not just at BP but at similar facilities across the nation. Changes have taken place at BP, but many doubt its safety culture — found in every federal, state and even its own internal investigation as wanting — has changed significantly. Even those who battled the company about its safety culture note there have been positive changes industrywide. "The industry has moved toward an increased appreciation for process safety," attorney Brent Coon said. Coon, who represented many of those injured in the 2005 blasts, including Eva Rowe, whose mother and father, James and Linda Rowe, were killed in the explosion, said: "In many cases, it was not done as aggressively as it should have. But that’s because of the expenses related to upgrading equipment." Keith Casey, who took over managing the refinery just as a $1 billion retooling of the facility was getting under way, points to new approaches to safety as evidence it won’t make the same mistakes again. He said the commitment to take lessons learned and increase process safety standards was now a part of life at the refinery. "This anniversary is a time for reflection and remembrance, but not a single day goes by when we don’t think about the tragic events of the day and rededicate ourselves to being an industry leader in process safety," Casey said. "We deeply regret what occurred five years ago and have since made real progress in our systematic approach to process safety and in improving the culture of our organization to see that it never happens again." Company officials said that, in addition to the $1 billion overhaul to upgrade and modernize the 76-year-old refinery, BP has reduced its risk profile materially to lessen the likelihood of a similar blast. The company points to reduced chemical emissions and a declining recordable injury rate as evidence the safety culture within the facility is far better than it was five years ago. Coon is hosting today’s look back, but noted it also includes a look forward with updates on educational safety programs, scholarships and burn treatment programs that received millions in funding from Rowe’s settlement with BP. BP still is facing the fallout from the blasts, however. In October, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration said BP had failed to meet its obligations of improving safety systems within the refinery that it agreed to fix when the federal regulator slapped the company with a $21 million fine related to the 2005 explosions. OSHA proposed a new round of fines totaling $87 million and noted what it claims were 439 new "willful" violations involving pressure-release systems on units at the refinery. The company has contested OSHA’s latest action and has asked for a review panel to take a look at the findings. http://texascityexplosion.com/site/headlines?post_id=827 Broadcast Site BP faces $3 million safety fines for Ohio refinery http://texascityexplosion.com/site/headlines?post_id=823 Broadcast Site BP faces $3 million safety fines for Ohio refinery 00:00 BP faces $3 million safety fines for Ohio refinery Originally posted by Erwin Seba - Reuters HOUSTON, March 8 (Reuters) - BP Plc was accused of more problems in its U.S. operations on Monday when the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced dozens of safety violations found at the BP-Husky refinery in Toledo, Ohio, that could cost the energy giant more than $3 million in fines. OSHA's announcement comes five months after the agency slapped BP with a record $87.4 million fine for failing to fix safety problems at its giant Texas City, Texas, refinery found after a March 2005 explosion that killed 15 workers and injured 180 other people. "OSHA has found that BP often ignored or severely delayed fixing known hazards in its refineries," said U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis in a statement. "There is no excuse for taking chances with people's lives. BP must fix the hazards now." BP faces a total of $3,042,000 in fines for the violations cited by OSHA at the Toledo refinery. BP has 15 days to appeal the violations to the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, which is already weighing the appeal of the latest fine against the Texas City refinery. In a statement, BP again reiterated its commitment to safety throughout all its operations. "The Toledo refinery's 2009 rate of recordable injuries was more than 25 percent lower than the refining industry average," said BP spokesman Scott Dean in a statement. "In addition, the Toledo refinery has made steady, measurable improvement in matters of process safety." Dean said BP was disappointed OSHA characterized the majority of violations as willful. "We will continue to work closely with our local OSHA representatives and look forward to further cooperation with the agency," Dean said. An internal OSHA memo, provided by Ohio Rep. Marcy Kaptur's office, said problems with pressure relief valves at the Toledo refinery were "similar to the conditions that existed shortly before the massive 2005 Texas City refinery explosion." Brent Coon, lead attorney for BP blast victims, said OSHA's findings about the Toledo refinery were not surprising and the financial penalties would do little to change the company's behavior. "Until our regulatory agencies start throwing the decision-makers in jail to think about it for a while things will never change," Coon said in a statement. A Husky Energy spokesman said the company had no immediate comment and would probably defer to BP, which operates the plant. As BP has had to contend with federal and independent safety investigations at its refineries since 2005, the company also has come under scrutiny for maintenance of pipelines in Alaskan oil fields. In December, BP discovered three oil leaks from Prudhoe Bay field pipelines. BP previously pleaded guilty to a U.S. Clean Water Act violation for a 2006 spill that released 212,252 gallons of oil on to the tundra, the largest recorded on Alaska's North Slope. The company was placed on probation and told to improve pipeline maintenance. Last year, BP pleaded guilty to a criminal violation of the U.S. Clean Air Act stemming from the 2005 Texas City refinery blast and paid a $50 million fine. The company was also placed on probation for that violation. The company paid out more than $2 billion to settle civil lawsuits brought against BP for the Texas City explosion. BP also has said that it has spent more than $1 billion to fix safety problems at the 455,790-bpd Texas City refinery, which is the third largest in the United States. At 155,000 bpd, the Toledo refinery is the 47th largest refinery in the country. BP and Husky formed BP-Husky LLC, a 50-50 joint venture to upgrade the refinery to run sour crude from the Canadian oil sands fields. The Toledo refinery has been inspected 12 times since 1991 by OSHA. In the most recent inspection, OSHA said it found 38 per-instance, willful violations including 26 instances of deficient pressure relief. (Editing by Lisa Shumaker; editing by Carol Bishopric) http://texascityexplosion.com/site/headlines?post_id=823 Broadcast Site OSHA Levies a Record Fine against Oil Giant BP http://texascityexplosion.com/site/headlines?post_id=803 Broadcast Site OSHA Levies a Record Fine against Oil Giant BP 00:00 OSHA Levies a Record Fine against Oil Giant BP On Oct. 30, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced it was issuing a proposed $87.4 million fine against BP Products North America Inc. (BP) for failure to remedy workplace hazards. The proposed fine is the largest ever issued by the agency and results from a 2005 explosion at an oil refinery that killed 15 workers. In March 2005, safety violations at BP's Texas City, TX, refinery caused a massive explosion that killed 15 and injured 170 people, according to an OSHA <a href="http://osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=16674">press release</a> announcing the fine. BP and OSHA agreed to a settlement in September 2005 that required the company to correct potential hazards to employees like those that had led to the explosion. According to an Oct. 30 New York Times <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/30/business/30labor.html">article</a>, investigations of the cause of the explosion concluded BP drastically cut costs on safety, had antiquated equipment, and did not rest fatigued employees who had worked 29 days straight to meet production schedules. BP has settled more than 4,000 civil claims since the explosion and agreed to pay more than $21 million in penalties as part of the settlement with OSHA, according to the Times. The announcement of the fine comes after a six-month investigation. OSHA issued the refinery 270 "notifications of failure to abate" the hazards that were part of the settlement, resulting in $56.7 million in proposed penalties. According to the press release, the agency found another 439 new "willful violations" of industry standards for safety management processes and systems. OSHA assessed another $30.7 million in proposed penalties for these additional violations. Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Jordan Barab said, "BP was given four years to correct the safety issues identified pursuant to the settlement agreement, yet OSHA has found hundreds of violations of the agreement and hundreds of new violations. BP still has a great deal of work to do to assure the safety and health of the employees who work at this refinery." BP has appealed the fine to the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, an independent administrative court that hears appeals of OSHA citations and penalties, according to a BP <a href="http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=2012968&contentId=7057595">press release</a> issued Oct. 30. The refinery manager said, “We continue to believe we are in full compliance with the Settlement Agreement, and we look forward to demonstrating that before the Review Commission. While we strongly disagree with OSHA’s conclusions, we will continue to work with the agency to resolve our differences.” According to a Dallas Morning News <a href="http://dallasnews.com/sharedcontent?APstories/stories/D9BLKLG01.html">article</a>, criminal charges were sought against BP by blast victims in a separate action. As part of a plea agreement between BP and the Department of Justice (DOJ), the criminal charges against BP were settled if the company met the terms of the agreement with OSHA. In addition, BP pleaded guilty to one violation of the Clean Air Act, was sentenced to three years probation, and was fined $50 million. The criminal plea agreement was approved in March by a federal court. Brent Coon, an attorney for those injured, said that a finding by the review commission that BP did not comply with the OSHA agreement would mean that BP is not in compliance with the criminal settlement. According to the Morning News article, the attorney plans to ask DOJ to revoke BP's probation and allow the criminal cases to proceed. The criminal plea agreement was reached over the objections of many of the blast victims. In July 2008, a safety investigation report filed as part of the criminal action against BP concluded that the safety violations at the plant "remain so serious that they could result in another major accident," according to a July 30, 2008, <a href="http://news.bna.com/drln/DRLNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=10325387&vname=dernotallissues&wsn=623224000&searchid=9544148&doctypeid=1&type=date&mode=doc&split=0&scm=DRLNWB&pg=0">BNA article</a> (subscription required). BNA quotes the report as arguing, "[t]here is not a valid engineering or practical excuse for such continued violations." The violations "include the same violations which caused the March 2005 explosion, 15 deaths and hundreds of injuries." The victims of the explosion were pressing for a $1 billion fine instead of the $50 million the DOJ agreed to in the plea agreement. The 2005 explosion has already resulted in about $71 million in penalties against BP and even more in claims settlements. The most recent proposed penalties may be reduced by the review commission, and it is possible that BP will contest the resulting fines in court after the review. BP also incurs the costs of rebuilding the Texas City plant. These substantial costs make one wonder if BP made good business choices by not taking the time and effort to put in place programs to protect its workers and to comply with OSHA's health and safety requirements. <a href="http://www.ombwatch.org/node/10551" target="_blank">Read the article</a> http://texascityexplosion.com/site/headlines?post_id=803 Broadcast Site BP Texas refinery hit with record safety fine http://texascityexplosion.com/site/headlines?post_id=793 Broadcast Site BP Texas refinery hit with record safety fine 00:00 BP Texas refinery hit with record safety fine By Erwin Seba of Reuters HOUSTON - US safety regulators ha shit oil giant BP with a record $US87.4 million fine for failing to fix safety violations at its Texas City, Texas, refinery after a deadly 2005 explosion. In announcing the fines, US Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said old and new safety violations found by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration at the nation's third largest refinery "could lead to another catastrophe" like the 2005 explosion that killed 15 workers and injured 180. BP filed a contest to the fine, calling OSHA's actions disappointing as the company believed the Texas City refinery had honored a 2005 agreement with the agency to fix safety problems that led to the blast. BP said contesting fines will send the dispute to a US administrative law judge for a ruling. BP also has an appeal pending before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, an independent panel that reviews OSHA actions. "We believe our efforts at the Texas City refinery to improve process safety performance have been among the most strenuous and comprehensive that the refining industry has ever seen," Texas City Refinery Manager Keith Casey said in statement. A United Steelworkers safety official said the union, which represents Texas City refinery workers, would seek to participate in any settlement talks or hearings before the commission and judge. "We want this settlement to be fair to company, fair to OSHA and especially fair to workers and to the community around the refinery," USW spokesman Michael Wright said. Of the fine, $US56.7 million was for 270 instances of failure to abate problems found in 2005. The remaining $US30.7 million was for 439 new willful violations for not following industry standards on pressure relief systems and other process safety failures, according to the agency. BP took multiple steps to fix problems found at Texas City in the first three years after the 2005 blast, "but later their commitment waned," OSHA regional administrator Dean McDaniel said. Systemic problems persist within the company, said a Labor Department official. "There are some serious systemic safety problems within the corporation, specifically within this refinery as well," acting assistant labor secretary for OSHA Jordan Barab said. "I think that just the fact that there still are so many life-threatening problems indicates they have a systemic safety problem at this refinery." In 2005, BP paid a then-record $US21.3 million fine to OSHA and entered into a four-year agreement with the agency. As the agreement neared its end in September, OSHA warned the company that numerous problems remained. "BP gets to claim they have the first and second largest fines of any industry under OSHA supervision," attorney for victims of the BP blast Brent Coon said. BP has said it has invested more than $US1 billion to repair safety problems at Texas City. The company has paid more than $US2 billion to settle civil lawsuits stemming from the blast. Earlier this year, BP pleaded guilty to criminal charges in the explosion and paid a $US50-million fine to the US Justice Department. The company was placed on three years' probation, a condition of which was fulfilling the agreement with OSHA. The US attorney's office in Houston was reviewing OSHA's action, a spokeswoman said in a statement. "We will take all appropriate actions to ensure the plea agreement is not violated and cannot comment further at this time," spokeswoman for the US attorney's office Angela Dodge said. Eva Rowe, who lost both her parents in the explosion hailed OSHA's action. "I think it's fantastic OSHA is standing up to BP," Ms Rowe said in a statement issued by her attorney. "I hope that this will still lead to criminal prosecution and conviction of the BP officials that were responsible." An investigation by the US Chemical Safety Board found cost-cutting by BP amid pressure to meet production targets led to the explosion. <a href="http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/UPDATE-2-US-hits-BP-with-record-fine-for-Texas-ref-XBK8L?OpenDocument" target="_blank">Read the full article</a> http://texascityexplosion.com/site/headlines?post_id=793 Broadcast Site US safety authorities impose record Â£53m fine on BP for Texas City failings http://texascityexplosion.com/site/headlines?post_id=792 Broadcast Site US safety authorities impose record Â£53m fine on BP for Texas City failings 00:00 US safety authorities impose record Â£53m fine on BP for Texas City failings British company has not fixed hazards after 2005 explosion at industrial complex that cost 15 lives <a name="&lid={contentTypeByline}{Andrew Clark}&lpos={contentTypeByline}{1}" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/andrewclark">Andrew Clark</a> in New York The US government raised grave questions over <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/bp">BP</a>'s safety culture today by imposing a record fine of $87.4m (£53m) on the British company for failing to fix hazards at its Texas City <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/oil">oil</a> refinery in the wake of a disastrous explosion that killed 15 people four years ago. The fine is four times higher than any previous penalty levied by America's workplace safety regulator, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and it raises the possibility that a criminal prosecution of BP over the tragedy could be reopened. In a sharply worded critique, the Obama administration's labour secretary, Hilda Solis, said that BP had reneged on commitments to fix flaws at America's third-biggest refinery, leaving the plant, south of Houston, in a condition that "could lead to another catastrophe". "This administration will not tolerate disregard of our laws," said Solis, who said that BP had a moral responsibility to look after its employees at Texas City. "We don't need to see another loss of another life there. Our motto is we would like to see people go into work and be able to come home to their families." The Texas City disaster was the worst industrial accident in the US for a generation. It happened in March 2005 when workers overfilled a container with volatile chemicals, sparking an explosion that sent a geyser of burning liquid cascading over nearby accommodation trailers. In addition to claiming 15 lives, the resulting chaos left more than 170 people injured. The fresh sanction over the accident comes amid a tougher attitude towards business from the new Democratic administration in Washington. It is a severe setback to BP's efforts to repair its reputation in the US after a string of problems earlier in the decade, including leaking oil pipelines in Alaska and a price-fixing scandal in the propane trade. An official investigation into the causes of the Texas City explosion concluded in 2007 that senior BP executives, under the company's former chief executive, Lord Browne, had failed to act on red flags over safety at Texas City. Fatigue was a factor as one of the employees involved had worked 12-hour shifts for 33 consecutive days. And living quarters were positioned too close to safety-critical machinery. After the disaster, BP paid a $21.3m fine to OSHA and undertook a long list of improvements under the supervision of an independent safety auditor. But the authority today announced that it had since issued 270 notifications to BP for failure to correct hazards and that it had found 439 new "willful violations". BP immediately pledged to appeal against the fine, which it described as "disappointing", and said that it "strongly disagrees" with OSHA's findings. "We believe our efforts at the Texas City refinery to improve process safety performance have been among the most strenuous and comprehensive that the refining industry has ever seen," said Keith Casey, manager of BP's Texas City site. "We remain committed to further enhancing our safety and compliance systems and achieving our goal of becoming an industry leader in process safety." Senior BP officials expressed dismay, saying that, until recently, they had enjoyed a good relationship with regulators, who have carried out 17 inspections of the plant over four years. Most of the violations relate to management of safety procedures and failures to install pressure relief systems on the type of chemical tower that exploded at Texas City. Lawyers acting for victims of the disaster suggested that the renewed action could put BP in breach of a plea agreement two years ago in which it pleaded guilty to a single felony and paid $373m to settle a string of criminal charges. Among those bereaved at Texas City was Eva Rowe, who lost both her parents in the disaster. Through her lawyer, Brent Coon, she issued a statement saying she wanted "criminal prosecution and conviction" of BP executives. "I think it's fantastic that OSHA is standing up to BP," said Rowe, who secured a settlement that included $32m of donations by BP to her chosen charitable causes. "I hope this sends a message that this behaviour will not be tolerated." <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/oct/30/bp-texas-city-safety-fine" target="_blank">Read full article</a> http://texascityexplosion.com/site/headlines?post_id=792 Broadcast Site BP contests a record $87M US fine for lax remedies since fatal 2005 Texas refinery explosion http://texascityexplosion.com/site/headlines?post_id=791 Broadcast Site BP contests a record $87M US fine for lax remedies since fatal 2005 Texas refinery explosion 00:00 BP contests a record $87M US fine for lax remedies since fatal 2005 Texas refinery explosion <h3 class="byline">By SAM HANANEL | Associated Press | Oct 30, 09 2:23 PM CDT</h3> The Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Friday imposed a record $87 million fine against oil giant BP PLC for failing to correct safety hazards after a 2005 explosion killed 15 workers at its Texas City refinery. The fine _ the largest in OSHA's history _ comes after a 6-month inspection revealed hundreds of violations of a 2005 settlement agreement to repair hazards at the refinery. BP officials formally contested the fine, saying they believed the company had fully complied with the settlement agreement. OSHA said the company also committed hundreds of new violations at the nation's third largest refinery by failing to follow industry controls on pressure relief safety systems and other precautions. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said BP failed to live up to the terms of its commitment to protect employees. If the problems are not addressed, Solis said it "could lead to another catastrophe." "An $87 million fine won't restore those lives, but we can't let this happen again," Solis said. "Workplace safety is more than a slogan. It's the law." The deadly explosion at BP's Texas City refinery, about 40 miles southeast of Houston, also injured more than 170 people. In a statement, the company said most of the alleged violations relate to an ongoing disagreement between OSHA and BP that is already pending before the Occupational Health and Safety Review Commission, a body that is independent of OSHA. "We are disappointed that OSHA took this action in advance of the full consideration of the Review Commission," said Keith Casey, BP's manager of the Texas City refinery. "While we strongly disagree with their conclusions, we will continue to work with the agency to resolve our differences." The largest prior OSHA fine was $21 million, also leveled against BP in connection with the refinery explosion. In the latest case, OSHA officials found 270 violations totaling $56.7 million in penalties for BP's failure to take corrective action as required by terms of the 2005 settlement agreement with OSHA. Agency inspectors also identified 439 new willful violations totaling $30.7 million in penalties for failure to repair pressure release safety devices. OSHA officials said the 2005 explosion was caused by defective pressure relief systems. The explosion occurred after a piece of equipment called a blowdown drum overfilled with highly flammable liquid hydrocarbons. Alarms and gauges that were supposed to warn of the overfilled equipment did not work properly. Jordan Barab, acting assistant secretary of labor for OSHA, said the agency found "some serious systemic safety problems within the corporation" and at the Texas refinery. "The fact that there are so many still outstanding life-threatening problems at this plant indicates that they still have a systemic safety problem in this refinery," Barab said. But BP's Casey called efforts to improve safety performance at the refinery "among the most strenuous and comprehensive that the refining industry has ever seen." Since the 2005 accident, four additional people have died at the Texas refinery, including one employee and three contractors. Eva Rowe, whose parents, James and Linda Rowe, were killed in the blast as they worked at the refinery, praised OSHA for "standing up to BP." "I hope this sends a strong message to the industry that this behavior will not be tolerated," Rowe said. "I hope that this will still lead to criminal prosecution and conviction of the BP officials that were responsible." Brent Coon, an attorney for several blast victims, said Friday that noncompliance with the OSHA agreement would mean BP is not meeting the terms of a highly criticized federal plea agreement between the oil giant and the Justice Department that settled criminal charges in the explosion. The plea deal was approved in March by a federal judge in Houston. Under the deal, a BP subsidiary pleaded guilty to a violation of the Clean Air Act _ a felony _ and BP was sentenced to three years probation and fined $50 million. Coon said he planned to ask the Justice Department to revoke BP's probation and the plea deal and proceed with criminal prosecution in the case. A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately return an e-mail seeking comment. <a href="http://www.newser.com/article/d9bljqcg0/bp-contests-a-record-87m-us-fine-for-lax-remedies-since-fatal-2005-texas-refinery-explosion.html" target="_blank">Read full article</a> http://texascityexplosion.com/site/headlines?post_id=791 Broadcast Site UPDATE 4-BP Texas refinery hit with record safety fine http://texascityexplosion.com/site/headlines?post_id=790 Broadcast Site UPDATE 4-BP Texas refinery hit with record safety fine 00:00 UPDATE 4-BP Texas refinery hit with record safety fine <div class="slugline">BP-OSHA/TEXASCITY (UPDATE 4)</div> * U.S. OSHA fines BP $87.4 million for safety violations * $56.7 million stems from 2005 explosion that killed 15 * $30.7 million for 439 new violations found by inspectors * BP says contesting fines levied by OSHA (Adds union, survivor, victim attorney, US attorney comment, tightens throughout)) By Erwin Seba HOUSTON, Oct 30 (Reuters) - U.S. safety regulators on Friday hit oil giant BP with a record $87.4- million fine for failing to fix safety violations at its Texas City, Texas, refinery after a deadly 2005 explosion. In announcing the fines, U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said old and new safety violations found by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration at the nation's third largest refinery "could lead to another catastrophe" like the 2005 explosion that killed 15 workers and injured 180. BP filed a contest to the fine, calling OSHA's actions disappointing as the company believed the Texas City refinery had honored a 2005 agreement with the agency to fix safety problems that led to the blast. BP said contesting fines will send the dispute to a U.S. administrative law judge for a ruling. BP also has an appeal pending before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, an independent panel that reviews OSHA actions. "We believe our efforts at the Texas City refinery to improve process safety performance have been among the most strenuous and comprehensive that the refining industry has ever seen," said Texas City Refinery Manager Keith Casey in statement. <a href="http://www.forexyard.com/en/reuters_inner.tpl?action=2009-10-30T183328Z_01_N30430337_RTRIDST_0_BP-OSHA-TEXASCITY-UPDATE-4" target="_blank">Read the full article</a> http://texascityexplosion.com/site/headlines?post_id=790 Broadcast Site BP fined record $87 million for refinery blast http://texascityexplosion.com/site/headlines?post_id=789 Broadcast Site BP fined record $87 million for refinery blast 00:00 BP fined record $87 million for refinery blast OSHA: BP failed to correct safety hazards at plant after 15 were killed Associated Press WASHINGTON - The Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Friday imposed a record $87 million fine against oil giant BP PLC for failing to correct safety hazards after a 2005 explosion killed 15 workers at its Texas City refinery. The fine — the largest in OSHA's history — comes after a 6-month inspection revealed hundreds of violations of a 2005 settlement agreement to repair hazards at the refinery. BP officials formally contested the fine, saying they believed the company had fully complied with the settlement agreement. <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33549487/ns/business-world_business/" target="_blank">Read the full article</a> http://texascityexplosion.com/site/headlines?post_id=789 Broadcast Site BP Fined Record $87 Million on Texas Refinery Safety http://texascityexplosion.com/site/headlines?post_id=794 Broadcast Site BP Fined Record $87 Million on Texas Refinery Safety 00:00 BP Fined Record $87 Million on Texas Refinery Safety By Holly Rosenkrantz Oct. 30 (Bloomberg) -- BP Plc will be fined a record $87 million by the U.S. for failing to correct safety shortfalls at a Texas refinery after a 2005 explosion that killed 15 workers, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration said. “This administration will not tolerate disregard of our laws,” Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said today on a conference call, announcing the fines. OSHA this month rejected BP’s request for more time to comply with a settlement over the blast, which also left hundreds injured. The London-based company is Europe’s second- largest oil producer. “The size of the fine will draw attention to the fact that OSHA is more serious than they have been in the past about insuring compliance for safety issues,” said Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates LLC in Houston. “Other refiners are looking at their situation and making sure they are in compliance.” BP said in a statement earlier that it’s “disappointed” with the penalty. The Texas City refinery is the fourth-largest in the U.S. and has a capacity of 470,000 barrels a day, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. OSHA said it has issued 270 notifications to BP for failing to correct hazards at the Texas City refinery over a four-year period after the explosion. OSHA is issuing a $56.7 million fine. OSHA also identified 439 “willful and egregious” violations of safety-controls at the refinery. That will lead to $30.7 million in additional fines. <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=aMcWfa88ew1U" target="_blank">Read full article</a> http://texascityexplosion.com/site/headlines?post_id=794 Broadcast Site BP Faces Record Fine for â��05 Refinery Explosion http://texascityexplosion.com/site/headlines?post_id=788 Broadcast Site BP Faces Record Fine for â��05 Refinery Explosion 00:00 BP Faces Record Fine for â��05 Refinery Explosion By STEVEN GREENHOUSE Published: October 30, 2009 The <a title="More articles about Occupational Safety and Health Administration" href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/o/occupational_safety_and_health_administration/index.html?inline=nyt-org">Occupational Safety and Health Administration</a> <a title="OSHA documents on action against BP." href="http://www.osha.gov/dep/bp/bp.html">announced the largest fine</a> in its history on Friday, $87 million in penalties against the <a title="More articles about oil." href="http://www.nytimes.com/info/oil/?inline=nyt-classifier">oil</a> giant <a title="More information about BP P.L.C." href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/bp_plc/index.html?inline=nyt-org">BP</a> for failing to correct safety problems identified after a 2005 explosion that killed 15 workers at its Texas City, Tex. refinery. The fine is more than four times the size of any previous OSHA sanction. Federal officials said the penalty was the result of BP’s failure to comply in hundreds of instances with a 2005 agreement to fix safety hazards at the refinery, the nation’s third-largest. According to documents obtained by The New York Times, OSHA issued 271 notifications to BP for failing to correct hazards at the Texas City refinery over the four-year period since the explosion. As a result, OSHA, which is part of the Labor Department, is issuing fines of $56.7 million. In addition, OSHA also identified 439 “willful and egregious” violations of industry-accepted safety controls at the refinery. Those violations will lead to $30.7 million in additional fines. Contacted Thursday night after federal officials disclosed the OSHA citations to The New York Times, BP said it was disappointed. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/30/business/30labor.html?_r=2&ref=business" target="_blank">Read the full article</a> http://texascityexplosion.com/site/headlines?post_id=788 Broadcast Site