OSHA cites Williams Olefins for six safety violtations, proposes fines of US$99,000 related to June explosion at its olefins production plant in Geismar, Louisiana, that killed two workers, injured 80 people

Allison Oesterle

GEISMAR, Louisiana , December 11, 2013 (press release) – Williams Olefins LLC in Geismar was cited for six process safety management standard violations, including one willful, by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration after an explosion in June killed two workers and injured 80 people. Process safety management encompasses a detailed set of requirements and procedures employers must follow to address hazards proactively that are associated with processes and equipment that use large amounts of hazardous chemicals. In this case, it was the use of propylene.

"Williams Olefins violated safety and health standards which, when followed, can protect workers from hazardous chemicals," said Dorinda Folse, OSHA's area director in Baton Rouge. "It is the employer's responsibility to find and fix workplace safety violations and to ensure the safety of its workers. Failing to do so cost two workers their lives."

A willful violation was cited for failing to develop clear, written procedures for how to change and put idle pressure vessels into service. A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health.
 
The five serious violations include inadvertently mixing hot quench water with propylene; failing to provide appropriate pressure protection for a pressure vessel; complete a process hazard analysis to address the opening of hot quench water flow into a pressure vessel; properly document workplace training; and promptly correct deficiencies related to process safety management discovered by an internal compliance audit team. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

Williams Olefins is a subsidiary of Williams Partners LP, which is headquartered in Tulsa, Okla., and employs about 4,700 workers corporatewide. The Geismar location employs about 127 workers and specializes in the production of natural gas, ethylene and propylene.

Proposed penalties total $99,000. The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's Baton Rouge area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Baton Rouge office at 225-298-5458.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions exist for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

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