CSB maintenance warning marks fatal Tesoro accident
8 Apr 2011
Washington DC – Marking the one year anniversary of the tragic accident at the Tesoro Refinery in Anacortes, Washington, the US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has urged refinery companies to invest more in preventative safety measures.
“Make the investments necessary to ensure safe operations,” said chairperson Rafael Moure-Eraso. “Companies that continue to invest in safety and recognise its importance will reap benefits far into the future.”
Moure-Eraso’s message comes with a video highlighting the CSB’s ongoing investigation into the 2 April, 2010, accident that killed seven workers.
At the time of the incident a heat exchanger was being brought online when the nearly 40-year-old piece of equipment catastrophically failed, spewing highly flammable hydrogen and naphtha which ignited and exploded.
In the video the CSB chairman notes, “The Tesoro accident is only one of several fatal incidents that occurred in the oil and gas production and refining sector in 2010 alone. Serious incidents at refineries continue to occur with alarming frequency.” View video
Insurance industry statistics indicated that the US refining sector has more than three times the rate of property losses of refineries overseas, the US chemical safety organisation added.
Moure-Eraso urges companies to take action to prevent accidents, including:
• Implement robust mechanical integrity programs with an emphasis on thorough inspections of critical equipment
• Monitor process safety performance using appropriate leading and lagging indicators to measure process safety before major accidents occur
• Maintain an open and trusting safety culture where near-misses and loss of containment incidents are reported and investigated.
The CSB is an independent federal agency charged with investigating serious chemical accidents. The agency’s board members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. CSB investigations look into all aspects of chemical accidents, including physical causes such as equipment failure as well as inadequacies in regulations, industry standards, and safety management systems.
