US agency says probe of fatal 2005 BP Texas City blast continues

US agency says probe of fatal 2005 BP Texas City blast continues

New York (Platts)--23Mar2006

The US Chemical Safety Board said Thursday that its probe into the March
23, 2005 explosion at BP's refinery in Texas City, Texas, is continuing one
year after the fatal accident.

A BP official on Wednesday confirmed that the company was continuing the
commissioning process toward a restart later this month, but he provided no
details.

CSB, in a statement, said it was "continuing to investigate many aspects
of the disaster," which left 15 people dead and injured 170 others. It noted
that it plans to issue a final report on the accident, "including a
determination of root causes and new safety recommendations," in late 2006.

CSB Chairman Carolyn Merritt, in a statement, said that, "this solemn
anniversary reminds us all of the need to prevent such accidents from
happening anywhere else through positive change. There is a heightened need
for corporate responsibility, sound operating practices and equipment, and
vigorous enforcement of good and needed regulations such as the Process Safety
Management standard and the Risk Management Program rule."

Those rules were promulgated by the US Occupational Safety and Health
Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency a decade ago, and
require good safety and engineering practices at refineries, chemical plants,
and other facilities that handle hazardous substances.

The Texas City refinery accident occurred during the startup of the
plant's the isomerization unit, when a distillation tower was overfilled,
flooding a nearby unit with flammable liquid. "The resulting geyser-like
release from an atmospheric vent stack led to a series of explosions that
killed and injured workers in nearby trailers," CSB noted.

The agency issued its preliminary findings about the accident on October
28, 2005. The agency has spent almost $2 million in what it has described as
"the costliest and most complex investigation" in its eight-year history.

In October, BP, following a call by CSB to form an independent panel to
examine safety practices and culture at its five North American refineries,
named former US Secretary of State James Baker to head an independent panel.

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