BP, whose giant Texas refinery was the site of a deadly explosion 2-1/2 years ago, leads refiners in improving plant safety, said the United Steelworkers union official leading downstream industry workers.

“BP’s working hardest, Shell’s probably second,” USW International vice-president Gary Beevers said.
After the March 23, 2005, explosion killed 15 workers at BP’s Texas City, Texas, refinery and left 180 others injured, the company came under intense scrutiny from the US Chemical Safety Board, an independent panel, and also became the target of hundreds of lawsuits.
As part of its recommendations, the Chemical Safety Board called on BP to form a partnership with the Steelworkers to create a safety program for its five US refineries.
The programme is nearly complete and the USW hopes it will become a model for the industry.
Much of the refining industry lags far behind BP, Beevers said.
“Everybody’s not jumping through the hoops to fix things,” he said.
A USW survey completed in October has found 90 per cent of 51 US refineries have at least one of the conditions that led to the Texas City explosion.
Improving safety, which also translates to improved refinery reliability, will require effort from the industry and government.
“Let’s look at the structural integrity of some of these vessels,” he said. “Let’s look at the OSHA standards. Let’s stop people from working 80 hours a week.”
To reduce worker fatigue, cited as a factor in the BP Texas City explosion, refiners will need to rebuild their work forces, which have been reduced through cost-cutting efforts, Beevers said.
One other recommendation from the Chemical Safety Board was for the American Petroleum Institute to work with the union to create national performance indicators on process safety and worker fatigue.
“I’ve heard nothing from them.” he said. “I don’t expect much from them.”