TCE Remember The 15

Remember The 15

Mission Statement

We are here to remember and honor the 15 people who tragically lost their life and the many others whose lives were forever changed as a result of the March 23rd, 2005 BP Texas City plant explosion.

We are here to remember commitments made by many of us five years ago. For BCA, it was promises to our clients to be aggressive and thorough in discovering the root causes of this tragedy. Promises to the general public to disclose all the results of our independent investigations. Promises of spreading awareness in order to improve safety conditions for all industrial plants so that tragedies such as this may be prevented in the future. For the USW and safety organizations, it was a promise to work with the industry to use this information to make petrochemical facilities a safer place to work. For enforcement agencies, it was to tighten regulatory mandates and improve oversight. For the judiciary, it was to ensure that all parties to the litigation receive justice. And for all of us, it was to leave this tragedy with lessons learned and make sure they are never forgotten.

On the fifth year anniversary of the Texas City plant explosion, we came together to commemorate those who lost their life and take a look back at what progress has been.

Brent Coon
Founder – Brent Coon & Associates

Remember...with the Remember The 15 Bill

The goal of the bill is to develop and implement administrative rules which will help ensure that employers provide a safe and healthful work environment for all of their employees.
Please note the Remember the 15 Bills going before the House and Senate are identical. Additionally, the Bill will make petroleum and chemical refineries safer by:

Banning trailers and other temporary buildings from the site;
Ending the use of open air release systems, such as blow-down drums;
Giving state regulatory agencies direct involvement in inspections of petrochemical plants in Texas; and
Ensuring proper training for all personnel on the workplace, by requiring meaningful competency testing and certification for everyone on the site.

(click to read the full "Remember The 15" Bill as introduced to the Texas Congress)

Remember...with "10 Vital Questions"

Q1: The Texas City Refinery of British Petroleum
Question: All of the calls to action, promises made and changes in process safety since the explosion boil down to one overarching question - is this a safer place to work today than 5 years ago? What has happened to improve the environment, to change the culture and to follow through in executing the promises made?
View commentary and read notes from the United Steelworker’s Sub Director Jim Lefton.

Q2: BP’s Executive Leadership
Question: What happened to the BP people involved? Where have these six and seven figured executives gone after receiving their golden parachutes and secretive exits? Responsible for the lack of oversight leading to the BP tragedy, what are they now saying about that fateful day in March of 2005?
View commentary from David Senko, Construction Manager of Jacobs/J.E. Merit and read about BP CEO Lord Browne.

Q3: OSHA, DOJ and the Chemical Safety Board
Question: From the hours immediately following the explosion, to the present day, the government has been deeply involved with TCE. Throughout their subsequent investigations and the monitoring and the enforcement issues they now face, these agencies made promises to improve regulation and worker’s safety. What improvements have been made since the 2005 explosion and how have the agencies created and dealt with the changes pledged to make the refinery workplace a safer environment? When speaking before Congress, OSHA pledged to staff their organization with more process safety engineers and a focus of process safety management. To what extent has their commitment been realized and how has it impacted the real-world of the refinery workplace?
Read a statement from CSB Chairman John Bresland.

Q4: The United Steel Workers and key unions
Question: The United Steel Workers created a key list of 10 safety points to be used in negotiations of process safety platform throughout the BP TCE Refinery. Was this accomplished and how did the negotiations go? What changes were implemented at the BP TCE Refinery, at other SE Texas Plants as a result? What other efforts using the lessons learned have been implemented?
Read the 10 safety points and hear Jim Lefton (Sub Director, Sub District 1, District 13, USW International Union) discuss the negotiations between BP and the USW.

Q5: Eva Rowe
Eva Rowe, the marquee client, the rebel with a cause, the subject of more press and media attention than anyone else in her unwavering commitment to see justice served – where is she now? What is she doing? The cause this fighter is squaring off with these days is motherhood. How does she feel about beginning the journey without grandparents in the roles of chief supporters and guides?
View Eva Rowe and Brent Coon.

Q6: The Families of the Other People Killed In The Texas City Explosion
Question: How have the families of the victims coped, grieved and adjusted over the past five years? Each family that lost of loved one, lost a piece of themselves. How have they coped, have they moved on and how are they remembering? BCA remains closely involved with all of the families.
View a Houston Chronicle news report about how victims’ family members have grieved.

Q7: Eva Rowe was the first of hundreds of claimants to go to court against BP. The resulting settlement brought about millions of dollars in donations to various foundations. Why was this particular settlement agreement so unique and why was the release of the BP documents so important? What has come of the other litigants? Have all of their cases been resolved as well?
View Honorable Susan Criss, the judge who presided over the litigation.

Q8: University of Texas Medical Burn Center, Texas A&M’s Process Safety Management Center and the Process Safety Curriculum of the College of the Mainland
Question: 44 million dollars in charitable donations were made as a part of this historic settlement. How has that money been distributed and spent? BCA takes a look at the where the money went to track the positive outcomes.
View executives and faculty from the schools and hospitals that received charitable donations.

Q9: The James and Linda Rowe Memorial Scholarship?
Question: Who received these yearly scholarships and where are they now?
Read letters from scholarship recipients and hear Diane Findley discuss the scholarship foundation.

Q10: Brent Coon and BCA
Question: After leading the investigation and litigation that followed the explosion, what have Brent Coon and BCA focused their resources on since the end of the Texas City Explosion case?
Read about and hear Brent Coon talk about BCA’s continued activism.