Seventeen Months on the Chemical Safety Board

On Aug 6, 2012, a pipe in the Chevron refinery in Richmond, CA, ruptured and leaked flammable fluid. The fluid partially vaporized into a cloud that engulfed 19 employees and then ignited. Miraculously, the workers narrowly escaped and were not seriously burned. Dozens of citizens also developed hea...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Issues in science and technology 2016-06, Vol.32 (4), p.75-80
Main Author: ROSENBERG, BETH
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accident investigation
Accidents
Accountability
Boards
Chemical hazards
Chemical industry
Citizen participation
Company business management
Employers
Environmental health
Environmental law
Environmental protection
Explosions
Factories
Flammability
Fluids
Government regulation
Hearing
Incentives
Industrial accidents
Industrial safety
Investigations
Labor unions
Management
Medical Services
Occupational health
Occupational safety
Occupational safety and health
Oil companies
Organic chemistry
Petrochemicals industry
Petroleum refineries
Political leadership
Politics
Professional Personnel
Public health
Public hearings
Recommendations
Refineries
Safety
Social welfare
Steel pipes
Tenure
Transportation safety
Unions
Voting
Work Environment
Workers
Workers Compensation
Workplaces
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Summary:On Aug 6, 2012, a pipe in the Chevron refinery in Richmond, CA, ruptured and leaked flammable fluid. The fluid partially vaporized into a cloud that engulfed 19 employees and then ignited. Miraculously, the workers narrowly escaped and were not seriously burned. Dozens of citizens also developed hearing problems as a result of the loud explosion. Such an incident triggers a number of investigations. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) investigate to see if there are legal violations. The company itself, Chevron in this case, investigates. If there is a union, it will investigate or participate in the company's and OSHA's investigations. The US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) can also investigate, if the CSB decides that the accident is momentous enough to represent a significant threat to public well-being, or if there are valuable lessons that the accident can offer for improving the safety of the chemical industry.
ISSN:0748-5492
1938-1557