Chevron refinery fire

CSB: Much more needs to be done to prevent chemical accidents

-and Board not buying “outlier” excuse

December 12, 2014

Written Testimony Submitted by U.S. Chemical Safety Board Chairman Rafael Moure-Eraso to the Joint Committee: Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions hearing entitled, "Oversight of the Implementation of the President’s Executive Order on Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security.”

CSB makes its case for 2015 budget request

March 20, 2014

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has requested $12.25 million for fiscal year 2015 – an increase over the $11.484 million it requested in 2014. Chairperson Rafael Moure-Eraso said thefunds will enable the agency to continue to investigate high consequence chemical accidents, perform chemical safety studies, and advocate for effective safety recommendations.

"The U.S. is facing an industrial chemical crisis"

CSB chief testifies before Senate about preventable accidents

March 10, 2014

The Chevron refinery fire in California in 2012 – the West Texas explosion last year – the West Virginia water crisis in January: All of these were preventable accidents. The United States is facing an industrial chemical safety crisis. After all of these accidents, we hear frustration and heartbreak. Workers, emergency responders, and the public continue to die and suffer injuries.

California moves ahead on refinery safety improvements

February 28, 2014

California’s initiative to improve refinery safety is getting a big thumb’s up from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB). A report recently released by the California Interagency Working Group on Refinery Safety “is an important milestone for improving refinery safety across the State of California,” said CSB Chairperson Rafael Moure-Eraso.

CSB to vote on “safety case” plan for Calif. refinery industry

Oil companies would have to focus on ALARP

January 5, 2014

The Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) will vote on the draft regulatory report of the August 6, 2012, fire at the Chevron refinery that endangered 19 workers and sent more than 15,000 residents to the hospital for medical attention at its public meeting on January 15.

CSB wants big changes in California’s refinery industry regulations

Wants to lessen chances of another Chevron Richmond refinery fire

December 17, 2013

In a recently released draft report, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) proposes recommendations for substantial changes to the way refineries are regulated in California. Entitled “Regulatory Report: Chevron Richmond Refinery Pipe Rupture and Fire,” the CSB draft calls on California to replace the current patchwork of largely reactive and activity-based regulations with a more rigorous, performance-based regulatory regime – similar to those successfully adopted overseas in regions such as the United Kingdom, Norway, and Australia – known as the “safety case” system.

Refinery safety group calls for tougher regulations

Recommendations also cover emergency response

July 15, 2013

A coalition formed to improve California refinery safety in the wake of Chevron’s Richmond refinery fire last August has released a list of recommendations it wants to see enacted.

CSB: Chevron could have prevented Richmond refinery accident

Company “repeatedly” failed to apply safer design principles

April 16, 2013

Missed opportunities to apply inherently safer design, failure to identify and evaluate damage mechanism hazards, and the lack of effective safeguards culminated in the vapor cloud release and massive fire that occurred at the Chevron refinery on August 6, 2012,a draft report by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has found.

Weekly news round-up

Worker paralyzed in construction fall; OSHA & NIOSH to hold construction fall prevention webinar

April 6, 2013

From a new NIOSH initiative for a safe, skilled workforce to an update on pending occupational health and safety legislation to a report on the Chevron refinery fire in Richmond, here are the week’s top OEHS-related news stories as featured on ISHN.com: