The U.S. Chemical Safety Board says the Feb. 18, 2015, explosion at the ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance, CA, was caused by “multiple process safety management deficiencies.” The CSB also contends the situation easily could’ve been much worse.
While industry waits to see if OSHA will carry out its proposal to post companies’ injury records online, a nonprofit has unveiled its new website that points the finger at the biggest environmental/safety/health violators in the U.S. since 2010.
A federal agency looking into the exact causes of a toxic chemical leak at a DuPont plant in Texas that killed four workers says its investigation uncovered flawed safety procedures, design problems and inadequate planning.
Bayer CropScience LP has agreed to pay $5,657,000 in a settlement with the federal government for violations of chemical safety laws in connection with a fire and explosion at its Institute, WV, plant in 2008 that killed two people.
The number of workplace deaths increased by 2% from 2013 to 2014, according to the federal government. A preliminary total of 4,679 work fatalities were reported in the U.S. in 2014.
A decision by a judge in Colorado highlights a hazard faced by workers in the oil and gas industries, and that more efforts are needed to protect these workers from potential death.
Earlier this year, we asked if DuPont’s safety programs had suffered an embarrassing black eye. Following OSHA’s recent action of placing the company into its Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP), the question is no longer “if,” but “how big?”
“He walked into the grain storage bin on his own two feet, but he left in an ambulance.”
Have DuPont’s safety programs, which it markets to other companies, just suffered an embarrassing black eye?
