Seventeen Months on the Chemical Safety Board

摘要

On August 6, 2012, a pipe in the Chevron refinery in Richmond, CA, ruptured and leaked flammable fluid. The fluid partially vaporized into a cloud that engulfed 19 employees and then ignited. Miraculously, the workers narrowly escaped and were not seriously burned. The large plume of particulates and vapor travelled across Richmond, sending more than 15,000 people to the hospital with respiratory and eye irritation. Dozens of citizens also developed hearing problems as a result of the loud explosion. Such an incident triggers a number of investigations. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) investigate to see if there are legal violations. The company itself, Chevron in this case, investigates. If there is a union, it will investigate or participate in the company's and OSHA's investigations. The US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) can also investigate, if the CSB decides that the accident is momentous enough to represent a significant threat to public well-being, or if there are valuable lessons that the accident can offer for improving the safety of the chemical industry.