refinery safety

Cal/OSHA, Chevron reach settlement in 2012 Richmond refinery fire

Company will replace piping, institute safeguards

July 27, 2017

Cal/OSHA and Chevron have reached a settlement agreement for a comprehensive plan that will improve safety at the Chevron Richmond refinery and for surrounding communities. The agreement meets and exceeds California’s landmark regulation to reduce risk at refineries, which was approved by the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board in May and is currently pending approval by the Office of Administrative Law.

Refinery expansion project claims a life

November 9, 2016

A South Dakota pipefitter suffered fatal burns at an ethanol refinery when ethanol spilled from a process pipe he was working on and was ignited by flames from nearby welding operations.

CSB issues safety alert stemming from fatal Tesoro Anacortes investigation

August 15, 2016

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has issued a safety alert entitled “CSB Safety Alert: Preventing High Temperature Hydrogen Attack (HTHA)” focused on preventing accidents similar to the fatal 2010 explosion and fire at the Tesoro Refinery in Anacortes, WA that fatally injured 7 workers.

CSB: Multiple safety deficiencies led to 2015 explosion at ExxonMobil Refinery

January 14, 2016

An ongoing investigation by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) of the February 18, 2015, explosion at the ExxonMobil Refinery in Torrance, California, has uncovered multiple process safety management deficiencies that led to the accident and a serious near miss.

CSB’s initial findings in ExxonMobile explosion to be made public

January 6, 2016

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) will get an update on the investigation into last year’s blast at the ExxonMobile Refinery in Torrance, California at its upcoming meeting.

ExxonMobil California refinery explosion in February a near miss, says CSB

October 23, 2015

When part of an ExxonMobil refinery exploded in February south of Los Angeles, smoke filled the sky and ash rained down on nearby neighborhoods. Four workers were injured, but at the time ExxonMobil told residents that no one in the community was ever in danger. But CBS News revealed it could have been much worse.

Oil worker wearing chemical suit dies from heat

September 21, 2015

A 45-year-old pipefitter who was wearing four layers of clothing – including a chemical suit - while he worked died on the job in March at a petroleum refinery in Norco, Lousiana.

Ten years after BP’s Texas City disaster, safety gaps remain

March 24, 2015

The US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) released a safety message yesterday to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the accident at the BP refinery in Texas City, Texas, that killed 15 workers and injured 180 others. In the message Chairperson Rafael Moure-Eraso emphasizes the need for continued safety improvements across industry in order to prevent similar accidents from occurring.

USW: California refinery explosion shows need for safety improvements

Union demands more protections for workers

February 25, 2015

Last week’s explosion and fire at the ExxonMobile refinery in Southern California underscores the need for improved safety conditions to protect both workers and communities, according to the United Steelworkers (USW).

CSB’s top New Year’s resolution: Better PSM regs

December 27, 2014

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board has identified the modernization of U.S. Process Safety Management (PSM) regulations as its newest Most Wanted Safety Improvement, concluding that implementation of key federal and state CSB safety recommendations will result in significant improvement of Process Safety Management (PSM) regulations in the United States.