CSB Calls for Tougher Regulation of Refineries Following Chevron's Richmond Fire

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board is calling for major changes to California’s system for regulating oil refineries in its latest report on a massive August 2012 fire at Chevron’s Richmond refinery. The report proposes a beefed up system to regulate the state’s oil refineries that would include more proactive inspections and greater involvement of worker safety representatives to reduce the risks faced by refinery workers, according to the CSB, the independent federal agency tasked with investigating serious chemical accidents.

“The current regulatory system for process safety is largely reactive, at both the state and federal level, companies have a default right to operate, and are subject to penalties when accidents occur or their activities otherwise draw negative attention from regulators,” CSB chairman Dr. Rafael Moure-Eraso said in a statement. “In the case of the Chevron refinery fire, the reactive system of regulation simply did not work to prevent what was ultimately a preventable accident,” Moure-Eraso said. Moure-Eraso said the CSB will hold a public meeting in Richmond next month to release the third part of its three-part investigation into the fire at Chevron’s Richmond refinery on Aug. 6, 2012.

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The enormous blaze ignited when a corroded steel piping component in the refinery’s crude oil processing unit began leaking. The fire endangered 19 refinery workers and sent more than 15,000 community members to hospitals, most with complaints of respiratory ailments.

In addition to the CSB’s report, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health in September issued its own draft report calling for more rigorous regulation of the state’s refineries. “California’s draft regulations address numerous issues raised in the CSB regulatory report, and the CSB will be monitoring the California rulemaking process closely to see if those provisions remain in the final rule,” Moure-Eraso said.

By Bay City News

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