USW Testifies Before U.S. Senate On Refinery Job Safety
Washington, DC - A job health and safety specialist for the United Steelworkers (USW) joined other witnesses before the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to review lessons learned from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) investigation into BP's catastrophic Texas city refinery blast in 2005.
Kim Nibarger of the USW Health, Safety and Environment Dept., testified that the Senate Committee needs to consider legislative consultations with the USW that contemplates federal enforcement penalties and accountability requirements around the current federal ‘Process Safety Management (PSM)' standard to make certain it keeps workers safe at oil refineries and chemical processing facilities.
USW President Leo W. Gerard reinforced the senate hearing testimony by citing the PSM standard that was developed and implemented through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in 1992. "The PSM standard in the oil refinery industry is the most important tool workers and employers have to assure a safe workplace, and we need to strengthen its enforcement application in all petro-chemical industries."
Nibarger, a former refinery worker himself, testified that the "PSM provides workers, their families and the communities where they live, the security of knowing that their companies are operating in a safe and responsible manner. Without regulatory oversight and the enforcement of the PSM standard, we cannot make that statement.
"The lessons learned from the 2005 BP Texas City accident investigation have shown us all that the knee jerk employer reaction of firing workers for alleged mistakes is not the solution. A series of management system failures were identified as the root causes stemming from years of focus on profit without adequate consideration on safety."
The USW job safety specialist was part of the union investigative team following the Texas City accident that killed 15 workers and injured 170 others. He described a joint implementation schedule begun in June with BP management and union leaders at each of five refineries of a 10-point safety initiative developed for refinery staffing, new management structures, joint process safety culture, internal maintenance plans and better designed work schedules.
He praised the CSB, saying the USW strongly supports the role they have played in preventing major accidents. "The USW urges Congress to ensure that the relevant federal agencies adopt what the CSB recommends following their investigations."
Other witnesses who testified before the committee chaired by Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) were: Carolyn Meritt, chairman of the CSB; and Linda Hunnings, widow of one of the BP Texas City explosion victims; plus an official of the Environmental Protection Agency and industry safety consultants.
The USW is the largest industrial union in North America, representing 850,000 workers, including about 30,000 workers employed at more than 20 oil refinery companies in the U.S.
For a copy of the complete testimony by Nibarger, go to: www.usw.org/.
SOURCE: United Steelworkers