abce certificate
Friday, 09 January, 2009, 01:40 GMT | more >>

BP weighs up blast report



By Upstream staff 

UK supermajor BP said today that it strongly disagrees with some of the US Chemical Safety Board's (CSB) final report into the fatal explosion at its Texas City refinery in 2005, but will give "full and careful consideration" to the report's recommendations.

"BP is committed to preventing such a tragedy from occurring again," the supermajor said in a statement issued at the same time as the CSB final draft report.

The explosion at the Texas refinery killed 15 workers and injured 180 others.

The CSB report said an "unsafe culture" that it claimed pervaded BP's operations was among the factors that led to the explosion.

However, the report also assigns a share of blame to the US government.

"Rules already on the books would likely have prevented the tragedy in Texas City," said CSB chairman Carolyn Merritt.

"But, if a company is not following those rules, it is ultimately the responsibility of the federal government to enforce good safety practices before more lives are lost."

The US Department of Justice is investigating whether BP is criminally responsible in the blast.

The report said cost-cutting, worker fatigue, and a failure by all levels of BP management to address safety issues contributed to the accident.

"Process safety programs to protect the lives of workers and the public deserve the same level of attention, investment, and scrutiny as companies now dedicate to maintaining their financial controls," Merritt said.

The CSB is scheduled to vote on the report at a public meeting tonight in Texas City within sight of the BP refinery, which has not operated at full capacity since the explosion on 23 March 2005.


Tuesday, 20 March, 2007, 15:29 GMT  | last updated: Tuesday, 20 March, 2007, 15:34 GMT

e-mail this article to a colleague


to email:  from:
comments: