CSB releases new Texas City video
A new safety video decribing the fatal explosion at BP's Texas City refinery has been released by the US Chemical Safety Board. The 56-minute video outlines the causes of the incident and highlight the safety lessons learned. The video includes a new nine-minute 3-D computer animation of the sequence of events as well as sections describing BP's safety culture, the human factor safety issues that contributed to the accident, and the importance of safe equipment design and trailer siting.
Three years after the explosion that killed 15 workers and injured 180 others at the BP Texas City refinery, the US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has released a new, comprehensive safety video entitled Anatomy of a Disaster: Explosion at BP Texas City Refinery. The vidoeo is available for viewing in the Video Room of the CSB's website.
It also features interviews with key members of the CSB investigative team, who completed the 341-page public report on the causes of the accident approved by the Board at a public meeting in Texas City on March 20, 2007. In the video, CSB Board Member William Wright discusses the Board's safety recommendations from the accident and key safety lessons from the Board's investigation.
Three outside safety experts appear in the video to discuss their views of the long-term significance of the accident in Texas City. Prof. Trevor Kletz of Texas A&M University and Prof. Andrew Hopkins of the Australian National University explain the distinction between personal and process safety; the importance of reporting and investigating near-misses; and the need for modern, inherently safe equipment designs to prevent accidents. Mr. Glenn Erwin, a safety official with the United Steelworkers, describes his experience as a member of the independent Baker panel that was recommended by the CSB and commissioned by BP to examine the safety culture of its five US refineries.
“We hope the lessons from this accident will be studied for years throughout the world's petrochemical industry,” said CSB Chairman John Bresland, who accompanied the investigative team to the accident site in March 2005. “The safety video we are releasing today is critical to ensuring that the lessons from this tragedy are readily accessible to businesses and organisations around the world.
“We are encouraged by the progress that has been made in many areas over the past three years - including OSHA's strengthening of process safety enforcement in refineries, and the industry's development of new safe siting guidelines for occupied trailers to prevent worker fatalities and injuries,” Bresland commented. “Much work remains to be done to help ensure that the tragedy at BP Texas City never happens again at another site. Industry and labour organisations should collaborate to develop new standards for fatigue prevention and process safety indicators, as the CSB recommended a year ago. BP should continue its work to improve safety performance and avoid additional process-related accidents.”
“The CSB looks forward to receiving additional documentation from BP on the status of implementing the recommendations we made to the corporation and the plant one year ago,” Chairman Bresland said.
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