OSHA issues largest fine in its history
November 2, 2009 by Fred HosierPosted in: Compliance, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, OSHA news, Who Got Fined and Why?, fire/explosion
OSHA has proposed $87.43 million in fines against BP for the company’s failure to correct hazards uncovered after the 2005 explosion at its Texas City, TX, plant that killed 15 people and injured 170 others.
The previous largest penalty was also against BP after the Texas City explosion. BP signed a settlement with OSHA and agreed to pay $21 million in fines.
As part of the settlement, BP also agreed to correct violations at the plant. OSHA claims it hasn’t. It’s issued 270 citations for failure-to-abate previous violations. That totals $556.7 million in fines at a rate of $7,000 per fine times 30 days.
OSHA also found 439 new willful violations, totaling $30.7 million.
Since the 2005 incident, four more fatalities have occurred at the Texas City facility.
The New York Times reports that, in the 30 years before the 2005 explosion, there were 23 deaths at the Texas City refinery.
“The $87 million fine won’t restore those [15] lives, but we can’t let this happen again,” said U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis.
“BP was given four years to correct the safety issues identified pursuant to the settlement agreement, yet OSHA has found hundreds of violations of the agreement and hundreds of new violations,” said acting OSHA administrator Jordan Barab.
Since the explosion, BP has settled more than 4,000 civil claims, paid from a $2.1 billion fund it set aside.
The BP refinery is the third largest in the country.
Do you think this large fine is justified against BP? Let us know in the Comments Box below.
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Tags: 2005 explosion, BP, largest OSHA fine, Texas City plant
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November 2nd, 2009 at 10:15 am
Yikes! Guess we know where some of those record profits from the past couple years are going… A company as large as BP with the resources that they have access too, should have made more progress than what they did. It’s sad that so many people don’t make it out of there alive. In BP’s defense, keeping a 1200 acre facility safe cannot be easy. Easy for me to see both sides. I expect this to be tied up in the courts for some time.
November 3rd, 2009 at 9:56 am
This is horrible! No injury is acceptable. It doesn’t matter how large the facility is. How many more years, and how many more lives will it take before proper change is made? This makes me sick…
November 3rd, 2009 at 10:33 am
On the surface there is no excuse here. They were cited for violations and given a schedule to correct them. They failed to do so and now they deserve to be fined. Is this too much money? I don’t know. I’ll never understand how you can fairly assign a dollar figure to 15+ lives.
November 3rd, 2009 at 11:06 am
The oil companies have huge profits. I do not understand why these violations could not be corrected. However, OSHA is over the top with such a fine.
I think of lawyers and their frivilous lawsuits against physicians, companies . . . people sue at the drop of a hat. There’s something bigger that is the issue here. There is no value on human life . . .but 15 deaths out of a total of how many employees. . . that is not stated . . . a 1200 acre facility . . . thousands. Let’s look at percentages and make the fine more equitable.
I lost my job . . . it took me two months to find another . . . at a $4/hour cut in pay . . . maybe ’small thinking’ to others . . . but I would hate to see more jobs lost at this time in our country’s history.
I could be killed driving to work tomorrow . . . our roadways and the construction methods/barriers erected during the construction have caused more accidents and deaths than this Texas plant. Do my ‘heirs’ due the DOT??? Th
The priorities seem skewed.
November 3rd, 2009 at 11:31 am
Absolutely should be fined. There is no excuse. To be negligent to the point of one person being killed at work is ridiculous, but this British Petroleum is showing no regard for their workers lives. The truth is that they would rather keep the billions in profit from raping the American public with rididculous fuel prices, than insure the safety and well being of the people enabling them to make a profit.
I personally dont believe there is room in America for companies that kill their employees. Money wont bring any one back, but it will fix that plant. Its tantamount to murder.
Lets see, WILLFUL VIOLATIONS + DEATH caused by same, = negligent homicide in any other situation.
Go OSHA!
November 3rd, 2009 at 1:28 pm
While I agree they should be fined, I’m not so sure the fine should be quite that high. It just seems funny, Obama hates big business, especially the oil companies, and lately the OSHA and MSHA fines are so large, and both agencies are more aggressive than ever, giving fewer ways to fight citations. Seems to me this is becoming just another way for the Obama administration to gain revenue, just another tax.
November 3rd, 2009 at 2:30 pm
I really don’t think the fine is out of line. OSHA has assigned a min & max fine for any given violation, and they are applied accordingly. The company I work for had about 1000$ in fines and we thought THAT was bad! But we managed to comply within the 30 days. The thing about this BP story that scares me, $88 mil in fines?!?! I can’t even imagine the violations, and they didn’t comply, instead were found in violation all over again. In the last 30 years, 23 people had died at this plant. Add to that the 15 that died in ONE single accident, that’s 38 people in, essentially, 30 years. Even if you count the next 4 years, makind 34 years, that’s an average of 1 death per year. There’s nothing wrong with that? Would you work for a company like that? How would you and your family feel if it was known that every year, someone would die at work, and there was no way to know if you were next? Would you NOT expect a company that big and wealthy to at least ATTEMPT to make the workplace as safe as possible? I work for a farm. farming is hard, but it’s not dangerous by general standards. I’ve seen other farms get shut down for OSHA violations that couldn’t POSSIBLY be compared to this situation, so why is BP still operating?
That was a rhetorical question, so please don’t respond with conspiracy theories and government involvement stories. I already know the answer, that doesn’t make it justified.
November 4th, 2009 at 6:09 am
Here is some interesting info concerning the OSHA citations that BP did not document that equipment complies with recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices (RAGAGEP).
In addition most of the citations are concerned with inlet line pressure drop on numerous pressure reliefs did not comply with recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices (RAGAGEP), such as API Recommended Practice 520
API RP 520’s recommended guideline of 3% inlet pressure loss is not RAGAGEP for existing relief valve installations RAGAGEP is not a standard or code; it is a benchmark against which performance can be judged.There is no mandatory code that governs relief valve inlet pressure loss.
OSHA believes there is a mandatory standard in the refining industry that prohibits inlet pressure loss exceeding 3% on existing relief valve installations. That is not legally or factually correct; there is no such legal obligation and it is not common refining industry practice to apply 3% to existing relief valves.
Most refiners in the United States allow inlet pressure losses on existing relief valve installations in excess of 3% and up to 5%. OSHA is now requiring that BP must modify its relief systems beyond applicable industry standards.
It appears that the terms of the 2005 Settlement of Agreement (SOA) have changed with the new administration and OSHA leadership of a new sheriff in town. There is no amount of money that will bring those workers who perished back. Yet at the same time there needs to be equitable balance in all this. Unfortunately, an opinion that OSHA and many do not agree on.
November 4th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
Good to see we all pertty much agree on this one. I think Jason B spoke well that More should have been done to correct the issues that OSHA gave them four years to correct. One thing though Jason, there is NO defense for “Willfull Negligence.” Grant it, a lot of citations, but also a lot of time (I can’t even imagine 770 citations, let alone 439 “new” ones!). Kudos for OSHA. I think they were in no ways out-of-line with the fines…Regarding the 1200 acre facility, I think BP, with their posted profits of 2.1 Billion dollars, could afford to hire a safety coordinator every 100 feet in order to keep their employee safe (at any cost).
November 4th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
Kathy, How many people are blown up by the highway departments negligent refusal to correct equipment it uses? Who would willingly work at a plant where its a percentage game as to who dies next? What kind of reasoning is this you are using?
American companies spend billions each year teaching “Zero for Life”, DuPonts Legacy safety program. Sure, it takes good management and money to do the right thing. Its also respectable.
I think its sad the government lets the refinery continue to operate.
REALITY CHECK:42 Human beings killed at this plant! Four SINCE the big explosion. These people didnt calculate percentages, they were just like you, trying to make a living for their loved ones.
Can we really afford to adopt an attitude like yours about human lives?
November 4th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
They where given ample time to make the necessary changes to get things up to par. They chose not to and now they have to pay.
November 4th, 2009 at 5:31 pm
Larry, I’m with you all the way. However, guards were in place. The worker was smart enough to figure out how to circumvent them (how ignorant was she?). Also, even if she wasn’t properly trained, as she thought she had been (maybe the courts have some evidence that that was not the case), THERE WERE PICTURES on the machine (no english needed). At some point we really need to take responsibility for our own stupidity…
November 8th, 2009 at 11:47 pm
John Aastad,
It sounds like you have some personal knowledge of the facility, so my condolences. However, you are speaking about pressure relief valves on a technical basis, which is making no sense to me. Why would anyone care about “pressure drop” on the inlet side of a PRESSURE RELIEF valve? The specific purpose of the valve is to RELIEVE OVER pressure. The way I read your statement, BP would ultimately have to increase the pressure capacity (ergo operating efficiency) of their pressure vessels, which would be expensive. So, it sounds to me like, for instance, they have some…oh, lets say 100 psi tanks, with 125 psi pressure relief valve, thereby overloading said pressure vessel by 25 psi. Am I close? We all know valves are under rated for capacity by the manufacturer, for SAFETY REASONS! This type of situation would be why that is the way it is. Taking shortcuts and saving a buck didn’t really work out for anyone here.
November 10th, 2009 at 9:16 am
It’s a privilege in this country to operate a motor vehicle and likewise a corporation. If you fail and continue to make the same mistakes while driving a vehicle, your license to operate one in this country is suspended and repeated offences are revoked. I say shut the plant down.
November 10th, 2009 at 11:15 am
Where was OSHA the 30 years prior to the explosion when they had 23 deaths? That should have been a great big red flag to OSHA. It sounds like it was a matter of time before they suffered a mass causality incident based on the history of the plant. What’s even more despicable is since the MCI they had four more fatalities it sounds like to me OSHA should have been camped out on this site and doing follow up visits weekly
November 10th, 2009 at 11:34 am
I am so sorry for the families of the 15. I am extremely pleased, however, to see this big of a fine assessed against BP. My brother died as a result of an explosion at its Whiting, IN refinery in 1988. He was only 40 years of age with two young children and a wife. The anguish we all experienced seeing him suffer with burns over all his body was more than we could bear. The scars never heal and we have the live with memories of his last days. He lived for a few weeks and on November 17, 1988 he passed away. Throughout the years I have followed the many deaths caused by fires and explosions at the BP plants - yet, it seems that OSHA has taken an extremely relaxed posture until now. My sympathies to the victims and the families. Perhaps less dollars in the coffers may be what BP needs to experience in order to first think about the safety of its workers. I certainly hope so.
December 22nd, 2009 at 6:02 am
[...] in a 2005 explosion and fire. BP paid a $50 million fine for that incident, and OSHA has proposed another $87 million in fines for failing to make safety upgrades required under a settlement [...]
January 3rd, 2010 at 12:56 pm
$87 mil is chump change for bp. Root cause: they just don’t care. In the US, they operate to please their british master. Not like the old days of Amoco.
March 23rd, 2010 at 6:11 pm
I feel any death is one too many. We the public, pay taxes to have government agencies like OSHA police these companies and force them to adhere to the laws and regulations. Their failure to comply has sent a blatant message that they think they are above the law and that they have a disregard for human lives. They should pay maximum fines until they are compliant and can show that Safety and regard for human lives is of paramount importance to them.
May 3rd, 2010 at 3:44 pm
Is it just me guys, or has anyone payed attention to the “BP” explosion, and oil leak out in the Gulf coast? This company does not have a winning record in America….
June 8th, 2010 at 11:30 am
How can this happen? I am appauled that OSHA knew how this company operated and still allowed them to do offshore drilling!
June 8th, 2010 at 12:59 pm
270 violations for failure-to-abate, 439 new WILLFUL violations. The 2005 explosion included, tallies up 38 deaths. Shame on OSHA for merely fining BP. Their operations should have been shut down until they complied with regulations. But no, sadly BP was allowed to continue to operated and killed even more in the Gulf and are continueing to kill the livelihood of thousands of others.
September 8th, 2010 at 2:13 pm
First, BP has the money to comply…..they could have used this money to get their house in order for sure instead of giving it away to Obama to fund his stimulus packages to help businesses….what?? Doesn’t make sense.
OSHA is totally out of control…if anything we need a Republican President who can do away with this anti-business attitude and Obama’s wrath of heavy handed enforcement. This guy and his Labor Secretary are idiots.
We need fair enforcement, employer assistance programs, voluntary protection programs, extensive help for employers with strong enforcement for those who choose not to comply.
This is really going to help business….anything to keep anyone from setting up shop here in America.
Anyway……..EPA is out of control and now OSHA is on the same path.. this is all incredible. I worked for Federal OSHA for 15 years and wasn’t happy with them then and that was with all the employer assistance programs in overdrive. Heck…I was the Voluntary Protection Coordinator for our office.
We are a good company….we work hard at safety and make mistakes. Then here comes osha to do the obama wrath on you. I don’t get it…if I could I’d retire but I’m stuck right in the middle of all this crap. If I hear one injury or one death is too much one more time by a so called safety professional I’m going to make him/her one of the statistics.