BP plans to resolve all of the citations issued to it by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration by the end of the year.
BP Products North America Inc. agreed to abate safety violations and pay $13,027,000 to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for penalties.
OSHA and BP Products North America Inc. resolved 409 of the 439 citations issued by OSHA in 2009 for willful violations of safety management standards at BP’s refinery in Texas City, Texas. OSHA initially cited BP in September 2005 for a past-record of $21 million as a result of an explosion at its Texas City refinery that killed 15 workers in March 2005.
As of Thursday’s agreement, all violations covered in the settlement have been corrected or plan to be corrected by Dec. 31, 2012 using procedures from the 2010 agreement. The 2010 agreement required independent third-party experts to oversee BP’s process for relief and safety, and release quarterly progress reports on BP’s activity.
“Protecting workers and saving lives is the ultimate goal of this agreement,” said Hilda Solis, secretary of labor. “For the workers at BP’s Texas City refinery, this settlement will help establish a culture of safety. The workers who help keep our nation’s oil and gas industries running deserve to go to work each day without fear of losing their lives.”
