Texaco Fined $83,500, Issued 7 Citations in Refinery Blast
The state Division of Occupational Safety and Health has fined Texaco Inc. a total of $83,500 and issued seven citations as a result of the explosion and fire last October at the company’s Wilmington refinery.
The citations followed a joint investigation of the accident by the state and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The federal agency is also expected to issue citations and fines in the case.
The most severe citation issued by Cal/OSHA, which carries a $70,000 fine, was for failure to maintain piping in a condition “to safely withstand the stresses imposed by the internal loads,” said Rick Rice, a Cal/OSHA spokesman.
State, federal and Texaco investigators determined that the explosion and fire occurred when a six-inch steel elbow pipe, weakened by erosion and corrosion, burst and sent a hydrogen vapor cloud into the air. The cloud caught fire.
The six lesser citations each carry a $2,250 penalty. They were issued for “serious violations of the state’s worker safety laws” involving supervision and qualifications of personnel working on electrical equipment, protective equipment, training and implementation of response procedures.
Four of the six violations have been remedied, said Cal/OSHA spokesman Rick Rice. “And they’ve already agreed to provide Cal/OSHA with an abatement plan for the remaining violations.”
Under state law, Texaco has 15 working days to appeal any of the violations or penalties to the Cal/OSHA appeals board in Sacramento.
“We just received the citations at 6 p.m. yesterday (Tuesday), so we’re in the process of reviewing them,” said Texaco s pokeswoman Barbara Kornyllo.
“But the one thing we want to stress is that the company sincerely regrets that this accident occurred and that we have taken steps to redouble our safety efforts at the plant.
“We have cooperated with both Cal/OSHA and Fed/OSHA,” Kornyllo said. “We’ve modified the hydro cracking unit that exploded and stepped up our inspections to every six months.
“Our main concern is the safety at our plant, and that’s what we want for our employees, our neighbors and the environment.”
The Oct. 8 explosion sent a cloud of flames into the night sky and rocked the neighborhood, shattering windows in nearby houses. Fire officials evacuated about 500 people who live within a two-mile radius of the plant, and 16 workers were injured.
