BP Refinery Blast: Death toll rises to 15, CEO visits site

24 March 2005 18:39  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (CNI)--BP said Thursday the death toll from Wednesday’s explosion at its Texas City refinery has risen to 15 persons, all contract employees.

 

The body of a contract employee listed as missing on Wednesday was accounted for Thursday morning.

 

The blast ocurred as employees of JE Merit, part of Jacobs Engineering in Pasadena, California, were working to start up the refinery’s isomerisation unit Wednesday following routine maintenance.

 

The Galveston County Medical Examiner’s office was working with the contracting firm to identify bodies and notify relatives.

 

BP chief executive John Browne visited the refinery Wednesday morning. “Yesterday was a dark day in BP’s history,” he said.

 

Browne said BP was helping government agencies investigate the cause of the accident, as well as conducting its own probe.  He said BP "will leave nothing undone" to determine the cause of the explosion.

 

Two workers died last year in a separate incident at the refinery, but Browne maintained the facility was a “very safe plant.”  He added that BP’s US safety record has improved overall during the past few years.

 

The isomerisation unit makes an additive that increases the octane content of gasoline.

 

Browne said the shutdown of the isomerisation unit will not impact the US gasoline supply. “Gasoline stocks (in the US) are extremely heavy,” he said.

 

Meanwhile, other parts of the refinery were continuing to operate, BP said. Non-essential contract employees were sent home until Monday.

 

The blast injured some 100 employees, sending them to three area hospitals. Most of them had been released as of Thursday but seven remained in critical condition at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.

 

Meanwhile, Houston attorney Rob Ammons said he was asking a court in Galveston County to preserve evidence at the scene of the explosion. He said he would file an application for a temporary restraining order on behalf of a worker who was injured in the explosion. The application asks the court direct emergency workers, company representatives and others to document and collect evidence that might indicate the cause of the explosion.

 

 Ammons said he has represented workers injured in explosions at other facilities.

By: Brian Ford
+1 713 525 2653

< previous article(VIDEO - ICIS news Asia Lunchtime Bulletin 2 November 2009)

For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.

Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.

Printer Friendly