USW Says LyondellBasell Fire Yet Another Example of Problems Within Oil Industry

PITTSBURGH, May 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The United Steelworkers (USW) today said the LyondellBasell refinery fire in Houston is the latest in a series of fires to occur in May and exemplifies the lack of safety within the oil industry. USW Local 13-227 represents the workers at the facility.

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The fire occurred Monday afternoon in one of the crude distillation units where a mix of residual oil and diesel fuel was burning. No one was injured. Residents were told to shut their windows and remain indoors until it could be determined if there were any health risks.

"This is another example of the need for improvements in health and safety within the oil industry," said USW Vice President Gary Beevers, who heads the union's oil sector. "On average a fire a week occurs at one of the nation's refineries. Like the lack of attention paid to health and safety on the industry's offshore oil rigs, the industry fails to develop a safety culture within the refining sector."

Since May 3 there have been six reported fires including the LyondellBasell incident. A fire occurred May 5 at AGE Refining in San Antonio, Texas, injuring two workers. A flange fire occurred at Valero's Corpus Christi, Texas, refinery on May 10. On May 11 there was a boiler fire at Marathon's Garyville, La., refinery; two workers were injured. A day later on May 12 there was a fire at the Evergreen Oil Refinery in Newark, Calif. There was also a small fire on May 17 at Shell's Deer Park, Texas, facility.

More fires than those reported are likely because refineries have no legal obligation to report every incident. When USW health and safety personnel were in talks with the American Petroleum Institute (API) regarding the creation of a standard for process safety indicators, the union argued for greater public reporting of incidents. The API and the oil companies voted the union's recommendation down.

The USW is the largest industrial union in North America and has 850,000 members in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean. It represents workers employed in metals, rubber, chemicals, paper, oil refining, atomic energy and the service sector.

Contact:

Lynne Baker, USW Communications, o) 615-831-6782, c) 615-828-6169

SOURCE United Steelworkers (USW)