Greening Austin Daily

Suits Claim that Texas BP Unit Released Carcinogens

20th August, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments

The Texas Tribune had this article about a BP unit at a Texas refinery that malfunctioned last spring, which has led to two lawsuits: an  enforcement suit brought by the Texas Attorney General seeking up to $1 million in Texas Clear Air Act fines  and a $10 billion federal class action suit on behalf of the more than 2,000 workers exposed to carcinogens released during the malfunction.  Here is an excerpt:

Each [lawsuit] charges that BP — to avoid bad publicity and lost profits from a shutdown — kept operations going at its largest refinery, exposing its workers and the entire Texas City community to more than 500,000 pounds of dangerous chemicals over a 40-day period….

At its unit in Texas City, BP continued operations between April 6 and May 16, even after the hydrogen compressor — which reduces emissions by trapping noxious chemicals for reuse in other parts of the refinery — had malfunctioned. Instead, the company opted to send the chemicals to the emergency flare device, which, much like pilot lights on a stove, ignites when it comes into contact with gases. In theory, the flare burns most of them up before they are released into the air. But even in the best of all possible worlds, 2 percent of the gases escape….

Long before Deepwater Horizon, the Texas City refinery was the ne’er-do-well of BP’s holdings. The 2005 explosion killed 15 workers and injured another 170. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration imposed a $21 million fine, the highest ever assessed at the time, for safety violations leading up to the accident. BP also pleaded guilty to one violation of the Clean Air Act as a result of the explosion and agreed to an additional $50 million fine. Then, at the end of last year, OSHA fined the company another $87 million — again breaking a record — for failing to implement safety recommendations developed in the aftermath of the 2005 disaster. BP has since agreed to pay about $50 million of that fine but is contesting the remaining amount in court.

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