OSHA and BP Reach $13 Million Agreement on Texas Refinery Citations

       

BP settled 409 safety violations with OSHA, following a record-breaking number of citations since 2005.

July 16, 2012 — BP Products North America has settled 409 citations with OSHA, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration.  The settlement follows a $50 million payout in 2010, after an explosion in 2005 at the oil conglomerate’s Texas City refinery.

After 15 employees died, and 170 were injured, in an explosion in 2005, OSHA cited BP at a record $21 million in violations.  A 2009 follow-up investigation found BP still negligent in promised new safety procedures.  Those “failure to abate” violations were the subject of the 2010 settlement.

OSHA increases workplace safety with a number of measures, including regulation safety signs (via MySafetySign). 

The 2009 investigation also identified 439 new violations.  409 of those were settled today.  Said Iain Conn, the head of BP’s Refining and Marketing division, “BP is committed to workplace safety… Our aim is to be a leader in process safety and we look forward to continuing our cooperation with OSHA to create an even safer workplace in BP and in our industry as a whole.”

The new safety procedures are designed to prevent catastrophes like the 2005 explosion.  As Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis said, “Protecting workers and saving lives is the ultimate goal of this agreement.”

– R. Fogel