A new regulation in California aims to improve workplace safety and health at oil refineries across the state.

The state’s Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board approved the rule, which provides a standardized framework for anticipating, preventing and responding to hazards within the refinery sector.

“This is the most protective regulation in the nation for the safety and health of refinery workers and surrounding communities,” said Christine Baker, DIR director in a statement. “This new regulation will ensure California’s oil refineries are operated with the highest levels of safety possible and with injury and illness prevention in mind.”

The regulation will be enforced by the state-run Cal/OSHA Process Safety Management (PSM) Unit. The unit is tasked with enforcing the state’s health and safety standards at refineries that handle large quantities of toxic and flammable materials.

The new rules are part of a package of complementary regulations intended to make California refineries safer for both workers and surrounding communities as well as strengthening the California Accidental Release Prevention (CalARP) program, which is designed to prevent the accidental release of hazardous substances that could harm public health and the environment, according to Cal/OSHA.

In order to comply, refinery employers will need to:

  • conduct Damage Mechanism Reviews for processes that result in equipment or material degradation.
  • conduct a Hierarchy of Hazard Controls Analysis to encourage refinery management to implement the most effective safety measures when considering competing demands and costs when correcting hazards.
  • implement a human factors program, which requires analysis of human factors such as staffing levels, training and competency, fatigue and other effects of shift work and the human-machine interface.
  • develop, implement and maintain written procedures for the Management of Organizational Change to ensure that plant safety remains consistent during personnel changes.
  • utilize root cause analysis when investigating any incident that results in, or could have reasonably resulted in, a major incident.
  • perform and document a process hazard analysis of the effectiveness of safeguards that apply to particular processes and identify, evaluate and control hazards associated with each process.   
  • understand the attitudes, beliefs, perceptions and values that employees share in relation to safety and evaluate responses to reports of hazards by implementing and maintaining an effective process safety culture assessment program.

Now that California’s standards board has approved the regulation, which represents a comprehensive safety performance standard the industry sector, the state’s office of administrative law has 30 working days to review and approve it.

Cal/OSHA helps protect workers from health and safety hazards on the job in almost every workplace in California. Cal/OSHA’s Consultation Services Branch provides free and voluntary assistance to employers to improve their health and safety programs. Employers should call (800) 963-9424 for assistance from Cal/OSHA Consultation Services.
 

中新社旧金山2012年8月7日电 (记者 刘丹)当地时间6日傍晚发生在美国加州旧金山以东瑞奇蒙德市雪佛龙炼油厂的严重火灾已在当天深夜被扑灭。美国环保署称其多次违例，将展开调查并有可能罚款。

雪佛龙7日公布起火原因时称，6日16时30分左右，炼油厂4号原油单位发生碳氢化合物蒸汽泄漏，工人尝试制止未果，泄漏愈发严重，工人不得不撤离到安全地带，大约两小时后火灾发生。大火在近23时被扑灭，共有3名工人轻微烧伤、吸入浓烟感到不适，已就地妥善处理。

大火腾起的巨大烟柱远在旧金山和奥克兰均可看见，近10万市民受影响，4个地铁站关闭。

雪佛龙总经理尼日尔 赫尔7日晚在市民大会上表示歉意，强调市民和社区安全为首要，保证不再发生此类事件。瑞奇蒙德市长盖尔 麦克劳富林和出席会议的500多位市民表示不能接受雪佛龙多次发生灾难，把获利看得远比市民健康和安全重要。

 

美国环保署位于旧金山的区域办公室今天下午表示，该炼油厂曾多次因违例被处罚，将对此次大火展开调查并有可能罚款。

雪佛龙在1998年因水污染被罚款54万美元；2000年，因二氧化硫泄漏未及时通报被罚款2万美元；2003年，因违反清洁空气条例被罚款2.75亿美元。最近一次火灾是2007年，大火持续10余小时。
 

旧金山湾区空气品质管理部门今天公布了空气测试结果，证实飘散在空气中的浓烟污染成分低于联邦健康标准，不会造成健康危害。

从昨晚至今日，大约有600-700名居民涌向当地3个医院求诊，诉说空气中有塑料品燃烧的气味，吸入浓烟后感觉不适，眼睛痒、呼吸困难、喉咙痛以及胸痛等。雪佛龙承诺负担所有医疗费用。

有市民质疑空气测试结果并不能证明是否对健康有长期危害，而瑞奇蒙德地区居民呼吸系统疾病高于其他地区。(完)