HOUSTON, May 28 (Reuters) - BP Plc will not
appeal citations for safety problems at its Cherry Point,
Washington, refinery, a state official said on Friday.
The Washington state Department of Labor & Industries cited 13 serious safety violations at the BP refinery, north of Seattle, earlier this month. The citations carry fines totaling $69,200.
A BP representative was unavailable for comment.
BP also pledged to correct the problems cited by the Labor & Industries Department following a November inspection of the refinery, the agency said in a statement. If the company had appealed the fines, it would not have been required to fix the problems.
Twelve of the serious violations covered 160 instances when management violated rules governing hazardous chemicals, the department said.
The inspection was conducted as part of a nationwide program to improve refinery safety following the deadly 2005 explosion at BP's Texas City, Texas, refinery.
'While it is good that BP has decided to correct the hazards without an appeal, we are disturbed that more than 10 years after the explosion that killed six workers at the Equilon refinery, our inspectors are still finding significant safety violations every time we inspect one of the refineries in the state of Washington,' said Michael Silverstein, assistant director for Labor & Industries' Division of Occupational Safety and Health.
The department along with the U.S. Chemical Safety Board is investigating a deadly April fire at Tesoro Corp's Anacortes, Washington, refinery that killed seven workers.
(Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Sofina Mirza-Reid)
((erwin.seba@thomsonreuters.com; +1 713 210 8508; Reuters Messaging: erwin.seba.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: REFINERY OPERATIONS/BP CHERRYPOINT (For help: Click 'Contact Us' in your desk top, click here or call 1-800-738-8377 for Reuters Products and 1-888-463-3383 for Thomson products; For client training: training.americas@thomsonreuters.com ; +1 646-223-5546) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
The Washington state Department of Labor & Industries cited 13 serious safety violations at the BP refinery, north of Seattle, earlier this month. The citations carry fines totaling $69,200.
A BP representative was unavailable for comment.
BP also pledged to correct the problems cited by the Labor & Industries Department following a November inspection of the refinery, the agency said in a statement. If the company had appealed the fines, it would not have been required to fix the problems.
Twelve of the serious violations covered 160 instances when management violated rules governing hazardous chemicals, the department said.
The inspection was conducted as part of a nationwide program to improve refinery safety following the deadly 2005 explosion at BP's Texas City, Texas, refinery.
'While it is good that BP has decided to correct the hazards without an appeal, we are disturbed that more than 10 years after the explosion that killed six workers at the Equilon refinery, our inspectors are still finding significant safety violations every time we inspect one of the refineries in the state of Washington,' said Michael Silverstein, assistant director for Labor & Industries' Division of Occupational Safety and Health.
The department along with the U.S. Chemical Safety Board is investigating a deadly April fire at Tesoro Corp's Anacortes, Washington, refinery that killed seven workers.
(Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Sofina Mirza-Reid)
((erwin.seba@thomsonreuters.com; +1 713 210 8508; Reuters Messaging: erwin.seba.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: REFINERY OPERATIONS/BP CHERRYPOINT (For help: Click 'Contact Us' in your desk top, click here or call 1-800-738-8377 for Reuters Products and 1-888-463-3383 for Thomson products; For client training: training.americas@thomsonreuters.com ; +1 646-223-5546) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.