Politics & Government

Officials Find Chevron at Fault in Fire – Should Have Replaced Bad Pipe

Federal and state investigators probing the cause of the large Aug. 6 fire at the Chevron refinery in Richmond issued findings Wednesday and blamed the oil giant for failing to replace a badly corroded pipe that caused the blaze.

Chevron knew that the broken pipe that caused the destructive Aug. fire at the Richmond refinery was badly corroded and should have replaced it years earlier, federal and state investigators said Tuesday in releasing findings on the cause of of the disaster.

In a news release from U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) and the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA), Cal/OSHA Chief Ellen Widess said, “This reports confirms what Chevron already knew– that the pipe was severely corroded and should have been replaced – but failed to act on before the August fire."

The large fire at the refinery on Aug. 6 spewed a giant plume over many square miles, resulted in a shelter-in-place orders and saw thousands of people seek treatment at local hospitals.

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Cal/OSHA fined Chevron nearly $1 million on Jan. 30 for what Widess described as "multiple Serious and Willful Serious citations." 

"Chevron’s own metallurgists and pipe inspectors reached the same conclusion and recommended as far back as 2002 that Chevron take action to protect its workers, the community and the environment by replacing the pipe that finally ruptured in 2012,” she said.

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CSB Chair Rafael Moure-Eraso said, “Based on the CSB’s investigation, the corroded pipe should have been replaced when opportunities arose years earlier. On the day of the accident, Chevron should have shut down the crude unit as soon as a leak was observed and removed workers to a safe location. Continuing to troubleshoot the problem and having firefighters remove insulation searching for a leak -- while flammable hydrocarbons were flowing through the leaking piping -- was inconsistent with good safety practice.”

In a response from Chevron Wednesday, the company said it does "not agree with some of the characterizations" in the news release but that the findings of low-silicon content in the failed pipe are consistent with Chevron's own investigation.

"Chevron U.S.A. is inspecting every pipe component in the crude unit susceptible to sulfidation corrosion," the company statement said. "Any component found to be unsuitable for service will be replaced before restarting the unit.

"We want to be clear that our strong focus is on preventing a similar incident from happening in the future. As we have previously communicated, we are implementing corrective actions that will strengthen management oversight, process safety, mechanical integrity and leak response."

Also on Wednesday, state Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner, whose district includes Richmond, issued a statement saying the "finding by the Chemical Safety Board following the citation by Cal/OSHA of willful violations demonstrates once again that Chevron has failed to properly monitor facilities, and that the Richmond refinery fire could have been prevented.

"Richmond and the entire East Bay need assurances that our refineries will be operated safely. Monetary penalties alone may not suffice."

Chevron spokesman Sean Comey said the company has no comment on Skinner's statement.


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