Study Shows US Refineries Have Bad Safety Record
source: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=10274207
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Report shows US oil refineries have bad safety record as blast kills 4 in Washington state
An overnight fire and explosion at the refinery killed at least four people who were working at the plant. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
(AP)U.S. oil refineries have an ongoing problem with accidents that turn deadly, losing four times as much money from such incidents than refineries in the rest of the world, according to an insurance company report obtained Friday by The Associated Press.
The problem is highlighted by a deadly string of explosions, including one that killed four people Friday at a Tesoro Corp. refinery in Washington state, federal officials said.
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=10274207
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration got so worried that in 2007 it started a major push for safety inspection in refineries and found more than 1,000 workplace violations in the industry.
"If the aviation industry were having the same number of significant serious accidents as the refinery industry was having you probably wouldn't see people flying too much," Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board chairman John Bresland told The Associated Press Friday.
The internal insurance report, given to federal safety regulators two years ago but never publicized, was all too familiar to Bresland's agency, which said Friday's deadly explosion revives concerns there's something terribly wrong with the industry.
The board, which makes nonbinding recommendations, oversees investigations on accidents in 150 refineries in the United States and tens of thousands of chemical plants. But about half of the outstanding investigations are of accidents at refineries, officials said.
The cause of Friday's blast at the Tesoro refinery in Anacortes, about 70 miles north of Seattle on Puget Sound, was under investigation. The blaze started during maintenance work on a unit that processes highly flammable liquid derived during the refining process, the company said.
Six investigators with the chemical safety board were dispatched to the scene. Tesoro, based in San Antonio, was fined $85,700 last April for 17 serious safety and health violations at the plant.
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An overnight fire and explosion at the refinery killed at least four people who were working at the plant. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
(AP)U.S. oil refineries have an ongoing problem with accidents that turn deadly, losing four times as much money from such incidents than refineries in the rest of the world, according to an insurance company report obtained Friday by The Associated Press.
The problem is highlighted by a deadly string of explosions, including one that killed four people Friday at a Tesoro Corp. refinery in Washington state, federal officials said.
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=10274207
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration got so worried that in 2007 it started a major push for safety inspection in refineries and found more than 1,000 workplace violations in the industry.
"If the aviation industry were having the same number of significant serious accidents as the refinery industry was having you probably wouldn't see people flying too much," Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board chairman John Bresland told The Associated Press Friday.
The internal insurance report, given to federal safety regulators two years ago but never publicized, was all too familiar to Bresland's agency, which said Friday's deadly explosion revives concerns there's something terribly wrong with the industry.
The board, which makes nonbinding recommendations, oversees investigations on accidents in 150 refineries in the United States and tens of thousands of chemical plants. But about half of the outstanding investigations are of accidents at refineries, officials said.
The cause of Friday's blast at the Tesoro refinery in Anacortes, about 70 miles north of Seattle on Puget Sound, was under investigation. The blaze started during maintenance work on a unit that processes highly flammable liquid derived during the refining process, the company said.
Six investigators with the chemical safety board were dispatched to the scene. Tesoro, based in San Antonio, was fined $85,700 last April for 17 serious safety and health violations at the plant.
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