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Chevron Fined $1M in Refinery Fire
Chevron's apparent decision to ignore its own inspectors' decade-old recommendation to replace a corroded pipe has triggered a record fine against the oil company in the blast and blaze that shook its California refinery last August.
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) has issued 25 citations—11 serious willful, 12 serious, and two general—and $963,200 in fines against Chevron in the series of explosions and fire that struck its refinery Aug. 6, 2012, in Richmond, CA.
The fine is a record for the state agency.
Among Cal/OSHA's allegations: Chevron ignored recommendations by its own Reliability Department as early as 2002 to replace the pipe, which later leaked and ruptured, triggering the blasts.
The company also violated its own written corrosion mitigation guidelines and procedures in continuing to use the failing pipe and did not follow emergency response guidelines after the leak began, Cal/OSHA said.
Cal/OSHA said Chevron had failed to protect its own employees and those of scaffolding subcontractor Brand Energy Services of California, which was working in the area.
Cal/OSHA also cited Brand Energy for three general violations and fined that company $2,060.
A Leak, and Then Fire
The fire began after a corroded pipe in Chevron's #4 Crude Unit began leaking. After investigating the fire and Chevron's leak repair procedures, Cal/OSHA inspectors concluded that Chevron "did not follow the recommendations of its own inspectors and metallurgical scientists to replace the corroded pipe that ultimately ruptured and caused the fire."
They also found that Chevron "did not follow its own emergency shutdown procedures" and violated its own Process Safety Management (PSM) procedures, which Cal/OSHA requires to prevent the catastrophic release of highly hazardous chemicals.
Remarkably, no one was seriously injured in the Chevron blast and fire, although a cloud of vapor engulfed employees and 15,000 area residents sought treatment for the fumes released in the explosions.
Inspection Lapse
Chevron later admitted that it had not inspected the pipe section that later ruptured during scheduled maintenance in 2011.
Reports later emerged that refinery employees had previously complained about unchecked corrosion after an earlier fire at the 110-year-old facility in October 2011. After that fire, workers told regulators that Chevron was ignoring corrosion at the facility.
In addition, investigators from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board discovered that corrosion had eroded 80 percent of the carbon-steel pipe wall’s thickness—well above the level at which Chevron’s policies call for replacement.
The refinery is the third largest in California and processes 245,000 barrels of crude oil a day. The damaged refining unit is still being repaired.
Health Violations
The 25-page list of health citations include numerous "serious willful" violations, a category reserved for the most egregious infractions.
Among those allegations:
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| U.S. Chemical Safety Board |
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Chevron allowed employees back into the fire-damaged area 19 days after the blast, Cal/OSHA said. |
The employees had been "instructed to breach to the red 'danger' tape barricades" around the restricted area, the citations say.
Some of those employees were "engulfed in a dense vapor cloud without respiratory protection," the documents say.
Safety Violations
The list of safety citations alleges a variety of serious electrical violations; inadequate emergency eyewash and shower equipment stations; process safety management violations; failure to replace piping system fittings, valves and piping for months or years after their scheduled replacement dates (two willful violations), and a broken fire main.
Company Response
In a statement, Chevron said it was reviewing the Cal/OSHA citations and "continuing to cooperate" with authorities in the various investigations underway. The company noted that it had submitted an update on corrective actions taken since the "event." Those actions include, according to Chevron:
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| Brand Energy Services |
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Brand Energy, which was working for Chevron as a scaffolding subcontractor at the refinery, was cited for three general violations and fined $2,060. |
"Chevron is committed to implementing these changes promptly and on a sustained basis at Richmond and across our manufacturing network as appropriate," the statement said.
Brand Energy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
