BP City Explosion Texas Investigation
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fined BP Products North America, Inc. (BP) $21,361,500 on September 22, 2005 following the agency’s investigation of the March 23, 2005 explosion at BP’s Texas City refinery. That explosion fatally injured 15 workers and significantly injured hundreds more. The fine against BP is the largest ever levied by OSHA. OSHA issued citations to BP for 303 willful safety violations, 26 serious safety violations, and 3 otherthan-serious safety violations.
OSHA’s report cited BP’s failure to:
Use intrinsically safe electrical equipment
Record and compile written process safety information
Ensure employees receive refresher training at regular intervals
Correct deficiencies in equipment operating outside acceptable limits
Adequately identify and evaluate potential risks before facility operation
Adequately evaluate the safety and health impact of catastrophic events
Ensure that operators follow safe and consistent startup procedures
Warn employees of developing conditions that could threaten safety
OSHA classified several of the willful violations as “egregious,” a term the agency only uses when violations occur in
multiple instances across a range of activities. BP agreed to pay the multimillion-dollar fine as part of an agreement with
the agency to improve safety conditions at the plant. OSHA, in conjunction with the Department of Labor, referred the
Texas City refinery case to the Department of Justice on December 9. The managers and owners of BP now face not
only monetary penalties, but also potential criminal penalties for poor safety oversight.
The fallout from the Texas City refinery explosion demonstrates the high cost of ignoring routine maintenance, process
safety oversight, and opportunities for improvement at an aging facility. As a result of infrastructure downtime and repairs
following the explosion, BP has lost an opportunity to invest approximately $1 billion of business capital into new programs and budget items. BP must instead deploy that capital to compensate for asset damage, facility downtime, lost product, and the administrative disruption that follows in the wake of a major catastrophe and a Federal accident investigation.
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