Flawed safety culture behind toxic releases at Tesoro Martinez Refinery
A serious process safety incident classified as a minor injury. Workers exposed to toxic chemicals. Lack of PPE. Training rushed in order to save money.
These were among the findings of a final report released yesterday by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) into multiple sulfuric acid releases that occurred in 2014 at the Tesoro Refinery in Martinez, California. Two workers were burned in the February 12, 2014 incident, which released an estimated 84,000 pounds of sulfuric acid. Less than a month later – on March 10, 2014 – two more workers suffered burns when they were sprayed with sulfuric acid during the removal of piping.