BP case triggers new US process safety coalition

20 March 2007 19:27  [Source: ICIS news]

WASHINGTON (ICIS news)--US refining and petrochemical industry leaders have formed a new process safety coalition with the goal of preventing the kind of catastrophic accident that killed 15 workers at a BP Texas refinery in 2005, an industry official said in an interview on Tuesday with ICIS news.

 

Ron Chittim, senior refining associate at the American Petroleum Institute (API), said the as-yet-unnamed industry coalition held its first meeting on 6 March in Houston, Texas, and included 25 industry representatives drawn from API, the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association (NPRA), the American Chemistry Council (ACC) and the Center for Chemical Process Safety.

 

Chittim said the informal gathering was convened in part because of the focus on the March 2005 fatal accident at BP’s Texas City refinery and the apparent need to improve process safety.

 

“We essentially educated each other on what each organisation is doing now on process safety management,” Chittim said.  “It was general brainstorming and sharing ideas.”

 

“There was strong sentiment and strong agreement that this would not be the only meeting of this group and that it would go forward as a coalition on the basis of looking for ways to improve process safety,” he said.

 

“We want to find out what can be done to leverage the resources across our various organisations with the ultimate goal of improving process safety throughout the entire industry, refining and petrochemicals,” Chittim said.

 

He said the coalition does not yet have a name, charter or mission statement, “except to say that improved process safety is our goal”.

 

In a joint statement made on Tuesday in the wake of the final report by the US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) on the BP Texas City accident, API and NPRA said they “have formed a broad coalition of industry organizations and experts to evaluate ways of continuing to improve process safety at all facilities”.

 

Chittim said another meeting of the new coalition has not been set but is expected within the next couple of months.

By: Joe Kamalick
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