BP denies jury-tampering in Texas blast trial

[Omaha Steve]

http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article1962494.ece

BP denies jury-tampering in Texas blast trial
By Stephen Foley in New York
Published: 08 November 2006

BP, the British oil giant fighting to restore its reputation in the US, has been scolded by a Texan judge for a publicity "stunt" that may have influenced potential jurors.

The company wrote to 900 members of the Texas City chambers of commerce, just days before the start of a trial that will decide if its negligence contributed to the deaths of 15 employees at a refinery in the city.

Judge Susan Criss, who will preside over jury selection tomorrow, said she could fine BP if it turns out that potential jurors had received the letter.

In it, BP's Texas City-based manager for government and public affairs, Neil Geary, set out how the company has improved safety since the March 2005 explosion and plans to spend a further $1bn (£524m) to upgrade facilities over the next five years.


FULL story at link above.

[acmavm]

1. Fry 'em. This was blatantly WRONG!

[MichaelHarris]

2. I lived

in Texas City most of my life. Believe me, BP will pay bigtime. With union members having a tough time finding jobs in the non-union refineries they'll be able to sit on that jury. Even if BP does the best jury selection of all time they won't win. They know it and are now trying anything they can.

[Democrats_win]

3. Note, 4 months later there was ANOTHER explosion.

http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/84/i43/8443plantsafety.html

A piping mix-up during reassembly following routine maintenance was the cause of a $30 million explosion last year at the BP refinery in Texas City, Texas, concludes the U.S. Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigation Board in a safety bulletin released on Oct. 15.

The bulletin was based on an accident that occurred on July 28, 2005. The board found that a carbon-steel, 8-inch-diameter elbow had inadvertently been installed in a high-pressure, high-temperature hydrogen line during a repair. In all, three similarly appearing elbows had been removed during maintenance. Three months after the repair was completed, the carbon-steel elbow blew, and the released hydrogen ignited in a fireball that burned for two hours.

The maintenance contractor had accidentally installed the carbon-steel elbow instead of one made from a more resistant alloy steel during scheduled maintenance at the plant's "resid hydrotreater unit," the board says. The board notes that contractor JV Industrial Cos. conducted the repairs and adds that BP had not informed the contractor that the pipe elbows were not interchangeable....

...The July accident resulted in no fatalities and one minor injury. However, it occurred only four months after a fire and explosion killed 15 workers and injured 180 at the same refinery, which is the U.S.'s third largest. Consequently, the board urges BP to examine the "safety culture" at all its North American refineries.
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Steel metallurgists will tell you that high-pressure hydrogen cause embrittlement in carbon steels.