OSHA investigated the causes of the accident concurrently with the investigation of possible violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act). During the emergency response to the accident and during the investigation, OSHA coordinated with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as well as other agencies. In the course of this extensive investigation, thousands of pages of documents relating to the facilities, the equipment, and company and contractor work practices were reviewed; scores of witnesses were interviewed; and critical pieces of evidence from the debris were subjected to laboratory and other tests.
OSHA's investigation revealed that a number of company audits, which were done by Phillips' own safety personnel as well as by outside consultants, had identified unsafe conditions, but had been largely ignored. The investigation further revealed an absence of effective management systems that resulted in the failure:
to prevent the uncontrolled release of flammable vapors.
to minimize the effects of a release of flammable vapors, including the elimination of possible ignition sources.
to provide adequate fire protection.
Thus, a citation for willful violations of the OSH Act "general duty" clause was issued to Phillips with proposed penalties of $5,660,000. In addition, citations with proposed penalties of $6,200 were issued for serious violations in the areas of emergency response, emergency egress, inadequate pre-emergency planning, plant alarm systems, hazard communication, and respiratory protection.
A citation for willful violations with proposed penalties of $724,000 was issued to a Phillips maintenance contractor for failing to obtain the necessary vehicle and hot work permits when working in the polyethylene plant. Citations for serious violations with proposed penalties of $5,500 were issued for hazards involving inadequate respiratory protection and deficiencies in the company's hazard communication program; other than serious violations involving mainly recordkeeping issues resulted in an additional $100 proposed penalty.
As a result of its findings in this investigation, the Department of Labor committed to a course of action directed toward preventing catastrophic chemical accidents. The following are the actions the Department pledged to undertake:
OSHA will expedite completion of its rulemaking requiring employers to implement comprehensive chemical process safety management plans for hazardous chemical processes.
OSHA will revise its current system for setting agency priorities to identify and include the risk of catastrophic events in the petrochemical industry.
OSHA will establish a catastrophe investigation protocol that will include plans, procedures, and an administrative framework to be activated in the event of a catastrophic accident.
The Department of Labor will work with EP A to develop a joint investigation strategy for catastrophic chemical accidents that affect workers within the plant and the public and the environment outside the plant.
OSHA will employ all means at its disposal to ensure that every establishment in the petrochemical industry implements technologies and safe work practices that are widely accepted and generally used by the industry and its contractors. The agency will encourage the petrochemical industry to incorporate new technologies into chemical processes that would decrease the likelihood of a workplace accident.
OSHA will sponsor a conference of industry, labor and government leaders on the lessons learned from the Phillips disaster. The results of the study on the petrochemical industry's practice of contracting out maintenance work will be presented. Representatives from other Federal agencies and foreign countries will be invited to participate in a discussion of ways to improve worker safety and health in the petrochemical industry.
OSHA will urge agencies involved in the collection of information on chemical accidents and incidents to establish an interagency working group to review available data systems with a view to including more information on the causes of chemical accidents.
EPA, as a part of its Chemical Accident Prevention Program, conducted a chemical safety audit of the Phillips Complex on November 6-7, 1989. OSHA staff participated on the EPA audit team. Other agencies contributing to and participating on the audit team were the Texas Air Control Board, the Texas Department of Health, and the local emergency planning committee. The purpose of this audit was to assess the facility's chemical emergency preparedness and prevention procedures and to determine the potential for and consequences of releases that have a potential impact off site. Detailed information on the facility was collected from documents provided by Phillips and through discussions with company staff. This information included a description of the physical characteristics of the site, emergency preparedness and planning activities, community emergency response planning, public alert and notification procedures, safety and loss prevention activities, and accidental release investigations. A list was compiled of the hazardous chemicals at the site, and the procedures for handling and processing these chemicals were reviewed. Systems for monitoring the operation of the process and equipment and for mitigating the effects of process upsets were also reviewed. Recommendations were developed for emergency response planning, equipment for monitoring hazardous substance releases, reporting and notification procedures for chemical releases, alarm equipment, and employee evacuation training. The EPA recommendations were transmitted to Phillips in January 1990. The audit report is available from the EPA.
The following is a summary of the major findings of OSHA's investigation of the accident. These findings provide the basis for the Phillips citations:
A process hazard analysis or other equivalent method had not been utilized in the Phillips polyethylene plants to identify the process hazards and the potential for malfunction or human error and to reduce or eliminate such hazards.
Phillips' existing safe operating procedures for opening lines in hydrocarbon service, which could have prevented the flammable gas release, were not required for maintenance of the polyethylene plant settling legs. The alternate procedure devised for opening settling legs was inadequate; there was no provision for redundancy on DEMCO3 valves, no adequate lockout/tagout procedure, and improper design of the valve actuator mechanism and its air hose connections.
An effective safety permit system was not enforced with respect to Phillips or contractor employees to ensure that proper safety precautions were observed during maintenance operations, such as unblocking reactor settling legs.
There was no pemtanent combustible gas detection and alarm system in the reactor units or in adjacent strategic locations to monitor hydrocarbon levels and to provide early warning of leaks or releases.
Ignition sources were located in proximity to, or downwind (based on prevailing winds) from, large hydrocarbon inventories. Ignition sources also were introduced into high hazard areas without flammable gas testing.
Buildings containing personnel or vital control equipment were not separated from process units in accordance with accepted engineering principles or designed with sufficient resistance to fire and explosion.
Ventilation system intakes for buildings in close proximity to, or downwind from, hydrocarbon processes or inventories were not designed or configured to prevent the intake of gases in the event of a release.
The fire protection system was not maintained in a state of readiness necessary to provide effective firefighting capability. Unknown to the fire chief, one of three emergency standby diesel-powered water pumps had been taken out of service, and another was not fully fueled, with the result that it ran out of fuel during firefighting activities. Further, electric cables supplying power to regular service fire pumps were not located underground, thereby exposing them to blast and fire damage.
Citations were also issued to Phillips for serious violations of other OSHA standards, with additional proposed penalties of $6,200. Among these were failure to provide for emergency evacuation, an inadequate respirator program, and lack of compliance with OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard with respect to company and contractor personnel.
OSHA investigated the causes of the accident concurrently with the investigation of possible violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act). During the emergency response to the accident and during the investigation, OSHA coordinated with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as well as other agencies. In the course of this extensive investigation, thousands of pages of documents relating to the facilities, the equipment, and company and contractor work practices were reviewed; scores of witnesses were interviewed; and critical pieces of evidence from the debris were subjected to laboratory and other tests.
OSHA's investigation revealed that a number of company audits, which were done by Phillips' own safety personnel as well as by outside consultants, had identified unsafe conditions, but had been largely ignored. The investigation further revealed an absence of effective management systems that resulted in the failure:
to prevent the uncontrolled release of flammable vapors.
to minimize the effects of a release of flammable vapors, including the elimination of possible ignition sources.
to provide adequate fire protection.
Thus, a citation for willful violations of the OSH Act "general duty" clause was issued to Phillips with proposed penalties of $5,660,000. In addition, citations with proposed penalties of $6,200 were issued for serious violations in the areas of emergency response, emergency egress, inadequate pre-emergency planning, plant alarm systems, hazard communication, and respiratory protection.
A citation for willful violations with proposed penalties of $724,000 was issued to a Phillips maintenance contractor for failing to obtain the necessary vehicle and hot work permits when working in the polyethylene plant. Citations for serious violations with proposed penalties of $5,500 were issued for hazards involving inadequate respiratory protection and deficiencies in the company's hazard communication program; other than serious violations involving mainly recordkeeping issues resulted in an additional $100 proposed penalty.
As a result of its findings in this investigation, the Department of Labor committed to a course of action directed toward preventing catastrophic chemical accidents. The following are the actions the Department pledged to undertake:
OSHA will expedite completion of its rulemaking requiring employers to implement comprehensive chemical process safety management plans for hazardous chemical processes.
OSHA will revise its current system for setting agency priorities to identify and include the risk of catastrophic events in the petrochemical industry.
OSHA will establish a catastrophe investigation protocol that will include plans, procedures, and an administrative framework to be activated in the event of a catastrophic accident.
The Department of Labor will work with EP A to develop a joint investigation strategy for catastrophic chemical accidents that affect workers within the plant and the public and the environment outside the plant.
OSHA will employ all means at its disposal to ensure that every establishment in the petrochemical industry implements technologies and safe work practices that are widely accepted and generally used by the industry and its contractors. The agency will encourage the petrochemical industry to incorporate new technologies into chemical processes that would decrease the likelihood of a workplace accident.
OSHA will sponsor a conference of industry, labor and government leaders on the lessons learned from the Phillips disaster. The results of the study on the petrochemical industry's practice of contracting out maintenance work will be presented. Representatives from other Federal agencies and foreign countries will be invited to participate in a discussion of ways to improve worker safety and health in the petrochemical industry.
OSHA will urge agencies involved in the collection of information on chemical accidents and incidents to establish an interagency working group to review available data systems with a view to including more information on the causes of chemical accidents.
EPA, as a part of its Chemical Accident Prevention Program, conducted a chemical safety audit of the Phillips Complex on November 6-7, 1989. OSHA staff participated on the EPA audit team. Other agencies contributing to and participating on the audit team were the Texas Air Control Board, the Texas Department of Health, and the local emergency planning committee. The purpose of this audit was to assess the facility's chemical emergency preparedness and prevention procedures and to determine the potential for and consequences of releases that have a potential impact off site. Detailed information on the facility was collected from documents provided by Phillips and through discussions with company staff. This information included a description of the physical characteristics of the site, emergency preparedness and planning activities, community emergency response planning, public alert and notification procedures, safety and loss prevention activities, and accidental release investigations. A list was compiled of the hazardous chemicals at the site, and the procedures for handling and processing these chemicals were reviewed. Systems for monitoring the operation of the process and equipment and for mitigating the effects of process upsets were also reviewed. Recommendations were developed for emergency response planning, equipment for monitoring hazardous substance releases, reporting and notification procedures for chemical releases, alarm equipment, and employee evacuation training. The EPA recommendations were transmitted to Phillips in January 1990. The audit report is available from the EPA.
The following is a summary of the major findings of OSHA's investigation of the accident. These findings provide the basis for the Phillips citations:
A process hazard analysis or other equivalent method had not been utilized in the Phillips polyethylene plants to identify the process hazards and the potential for malfunction or human error and to reduce or eliminate such hazards.
Phillips' existing safe operating procedures for opening lines in hydrocarbon service, which could have prevented the flammable gas release, were not required for maintenance of the polyethylene plant settling legs. The alternate procedure devised for opening settling legs was inadequate; there was no provision for redundancy on DEMCO3 valves, no adequate lockout/tagout procedure, and improper design of the valve actuator mechanism and its air hose connections.
An effective safety permit system was not enforced with respect to Phillips or contractor employees to ensure that proper safety precautions were observed during maintenance operations, such as unblocking reactor settling legs.
There was no pemtanent combustible gas detection and alarm system in the reactor units or in adjacent strategic locations to monitor hydrocarbon levels and to provide early warning of leaks or releases.
Ignition sources were located in proximity to, or downwind (based on prevailing winds) from, large hydrocarbon inventories. Ignition sources also were introduced into high hazard areas without flammable gas testing.
Buildings containing personnel or vital control equipment were not separated from process units in accordance with accepted engineering principles or designed with sufficient resistance to fire and explosion.
Ventilation system intakes for buildings in close proximity to, or downwind from, hydrocarbon processes or inventories were not designed or configured to prevent the intake of gases in the event of a release.
The fire protection system was not maintained in a state of readiness necessary to provide effective firefighting capability. Unknown to the fire chief, one of three emergency standby diesel-powered water pumps had been taken out of service, and another was not fully fueled, with the result that it ran out of fuel during firefighting activities. Further, electric cables supplying power to regular service fire pumps were not located underground, thereby exposing them to blast and fire damage.
Citations were also issued to Phillips for serious violations of other OSHA standards, with additional proposed penalties of $6,200. Among these were failure to provide for emergency evacuation, an inadequate respirator program, and lack of compliance with OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard with respect to company and contractor personnel.
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