Texas accuses BP of poorly operating its refinery

[sonias]

AAS 8/5/10
Texas accuses BP of poorly operating its refinery

HOUSTON — A BP Texas City refinery that was the site of a massive 2005 explosion that killed 15 workers has a pattern of poor operation and maintenance practices, Texas environmental regulators reported after investigating a 46-day release of toxic and cancer-causing chemicals from the plant this spring.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality handed its findings over to the state's attorney general because BP's violations are "egregious," the company has a poor compliance history and the courts have the power to hand down greater monetary fines, said John Sadlier, deputy director of TCEQ's Office of Compliance and Enforcement.

The report comes as BP nears a final fix for its massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

The commission found the toxic release at the Texas City facility, the nation's third-largest refinery, began April 6, days before the Deepwater Horizon blew up, and ended May 22 — more than a month after the company was saddled with cleaning up with the largest oil spill in U.S. history.

Holy shit, the TCEQ actually did something that doesn't amount to protecting polluting industry! No wait, it didn't really. It handed the hot potato to Texas A.G. Greg Abbott.


Who wants to bet that if ProPublica hadn't run this story that TCEQ would have kept sitting on their hands? "We see nothing, we smell nothing, we do nothing" is the motto for TCEQ.

ProPublica 7/2/10
BP Texas Refinery Had Huge Toxic Release Just Before Gulf Blowout
TEXAS CITY, TEXAS -- Two weeks before the blowout in the Gulf of Mexico, the huge, trouble-plagued BP refinery (1) in this coastal town spewed tens of thousands of pounds of toxic chemicals into the skies.

The release from the BP facility here began April 6 and lasted 40 days (2). It stemmed from the company's decision to keep producing and selling gasoline while it attempted repairs on a key piece of equipment, according to BP officials and Texas regulators.

BP says it failed to detect the extent of the emissions for several weeks. It discovered the scope of the problem only after analyzing data from a monitor that measures emissions from a flare 300 feet above the ground that was supposed to incinerate the toxic chemicals.

The company now estimates that 538,000 pounds of chemicals escaped from the refinery while it was replacing the equipment. These included 17,000 pounds of benzene, a known carcinogen; 37,000 pounds of nitrogen oxides, which contribute to respiratory problems; and 186,000 pounds of carbon monoxide.

Lets see how long Greg Abbott can drag his feet on this one. I'm sure it will go way past November, before he gets this going. :eyes:

:kick:

[Richardo]

1. If TEXAS says you're too negligent to operate an oil refinery, you have truly hit bottom

[sonias]

3. Now, now Richardo they only "accused them"

Of being too negligent. They won't make the case, I bet. They'll put on a dog and pony show because it's an election year cycle, but when it comes time to "settle" BP will pay pennies for a fine.

:hi:

[sonias]

4. Throw out BP plea deal, victims tell feds

This is an older story but it's helpful to keep it in the thread for archive purposes.

Houston Chronicle 7/4/10
Throw out BP plea deal, victims tell feds
Recent events prove company can’t be trusted, say survivors of the Texas City blast

Dave Leining had worked at BP's Texas City refinery for 36 years when a fatal blast in 2005 took his hearing, broke his ankles and left him trapped in the ruins of a double-wide office trailer as a ball of explosive fire passed over his head.

At least he survived. Fifteen others did not.

Now, the toll of the dead in BP-related accidents includes at least 14 more — 11 of those lives snuffed out in the April 20 Deepwater Horizon disaster and three others in subsequent incidents at the Texas City refinery.

Leining and various victims' attorneys have asked the U.S. Department of Justice to revoke the terms of a 2007 plea deal the company reached as part of a criminal prosecution of the deadly Texas City accident. Ample evidence that BP never fixed the refinery as promised - including the three additional fatalities in other accidents - provides proof the company can't be trusted, they say.

In a vocabulary fueled by the anger of survivors, Leining and others call BP a corporate villain who views blue-collar workers as "consumable" and "disposable" commodities. They want someone, preferably a high-ranking executive, to go to jail.

:kick:

[sonias]

2. Texas City Workers: Chemicals Spewed From Broken Pipe ‘Like Water From a Fire Hydrant’

ProPublica 8/5/10
Texas City Workers: Chemicals Spewed From Broken Pipe ‘Like Water From a Fire Hydrant’

(snip)
In two lawsuits filed in federal court in Galveston, workers at the refinery allege that BP’s recent toxic release—which, as we reported, occurred two weeks before the Deepwater Horizon blast and went on for 40 days (2)—exposed them to dangerous chemicals that have since caused lingering health problems.

Both lawsuits accuse BP of acting with negligence. One seeks punitive damages of $10 billion. The workers allege that they’re "routinely" exposed to benzene, a carcinogenic constituent of petroleum that has also been detected in the Gulf.

"In order to avoid losing the profit from shutting down an operating unit, and in an attempt to avoid the publicity such a shutdown would have garnered in the financial press, the Defendant instead spewed thousands of pounds of one of the most deadly and nastiest carcinogens into the atmosphere, exposing unsuspecting onsite workers and nearby residents," read one complaint (3), filed on behalf of 10 named plaintiffs and more than 2,200 others.The plaintiffs in this larger case are workers at the refinery and people who live or work in Texas City who also say they've been harmed by BP's chemical release.

That complaint also described an August 2009 incident in which a group of workers allegedly found chemicals spewing out of a broken pipe "like water from a fire hydrant." They were taken to the hospital and later learned they had been exposed to benzene. According to the complaint, at least two more workers were sent to the hospital this past weekend due to another benzene exposure.

Good for ProPublica keeping the heat on BP and our lax environmental regulation agency TCEQ. I hope those workers win their lawsuits.
:kick:

[sonias]

5. State sues BP over toxic release at refinery

AAS 8/10/10
State sues BP over refinery

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has sued BP, charging that the company illegally emitted nearly 500,000 pounds of air pollutants at its Texas City refinery for more than a month this spring.

The suit charges that BP's poor operation and maintenance for 46 days in April and May were the primary cause of the toxic emissions. BP could be fined up to $25,000 per day for each violation. The Texas City refinery, about 30 miles south of Houston, is the nation's third-largest.

Last week, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality released findings that BP's multiple violations are egregious and the company has a poor compliance history. The state regulatory agency turned those findings over to the attorney general.

I'm shocked!

Now the kicker is exactly how much will BP be fined. I don't expect them to see the maximum of $25K per day. I'm sure Abbott and BP are working to settle for pennies on the dollar - for good compliance in the future. You just wait for it.

:kick:

[sonias]

6. Record Fine Slapped Against BP For Poor Safety at Texas City Refinaries

Burnt Orange Report 8/12/10
Record Fine Slapped Against BP For Poor Safety at Texas City Refineries

The oil company that Rick Perry once said "historically had a very good safety record," was slapped with The Occupational Safety and Health Administrations largest fine in American History. British Petroleum, the company Republican Joe Barton wants you to apologize to, was tagged for $50 Million for failing to correct safety hazards that were exposed after a BP-owned refinery exploded in Texas City in 2005.

It's expected that Rick Perry would defend BP's safety record. A reminder that it was on Perry's watch as Governor that the explosion occurred, and on Perry's watch that the OSHA fine has occurred for not fixing safety violations after the 2005 Texas City explosion. I say Perry's defense of BP is expected because BP is the largest single contributor toward renovating the Governor's mansion. With Rick Perry money talks, revolving doors with staff becoming lobbyists and lobbyists becoming staff are the norm, and Texans suffer from that corrupt style of career governing.

Great video at the link above or from this YouTube link directly - Rick Perry and BP
From the folks at Lone Star Project.

:kick:

[white cloud]

7. WOW

More of the same. Got to go.

[Capt.America]

8. Im tired of fines - when is someone going to go to jail?

[sonias]

9. Welcome to Texas DU Capt.America!

:hi:

Good question. If corporations are people and they are held to be negligible in people's deaths, why doesn't someone get sentenced to jail?

Obviously the families of the victims feel that way too. Maybe the only way to correct corporate behavior is to send the responsible person/people to jail.

:kick: