OSHA and BP Products North America Inc. have resolved 409 of the 439 citations issued by the agency in October 2009 for willful violations of OSHA's process safety management standard at BP's refinery in Texas City, Texas. Under the agreement, BP will pay $13,027,000 in penalties, and already has abated or will abate all existing violations by the end of 2012.
"Protecting workers and saving lives is the ultimate goal of this agreement," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "For the workers at BP's Texas City refinery, this settlement will help establish a culture of safety. The workers who help keep our nation's oil and gas industries running deserve to go to work each day without fear of losing their lives."
In September 2005, OSHA cited BP for a then-record $21 million as a result of the explosion at its Texas City refinery that killed 15 workers in March of that year. Upon issuance of the citations, the parties entered into an agreement that required BP to identify and correct deficiencies. In a 2009 follow-up investigation to evaluate BP's performance under the 2005 agreement, OSHA found that although the company had made improvements to the plant, the company had failed to correct a number of hazards, which led OSHA to issue 270 failure- to-abate notices. In a settlement agreement in August, 2010, the company paid $50.6 million to resolve those notices.
