Mar 24, 2005 texas city the only worker still missing after the explosion of bps texas city refinery was found dead in the plants rubble today, bringing the death toll to 15. Andrew hopkins this book discusses the causes of a major explosion at the texas. Valeros texas city refinery hit by explosion, fire reuters. Bill minutaglio, author of city on fire, discusses the 1947 explosion in texas city of a ship full of ammonium nitrate that killed hundreds and left thousands wounded. The texas tribune and the houston chronicle spent two months examining whether the nations oil refineries learned the lessons of the deadly explosion at bps texas city refinery in 2005 one of the most studied industrial accidents in u. For safety inspector charles ramirez, march 23 got off to a good start. Failure to learn the bp texas city refinery disaster, cch australia, sydney 2008, isbn 19222446. The texas city refinery explosion occurred on march 23, 2005, when a hydrocarbon vapor cloud was ignited and violently exploded at the isom isomerization. The current settlement addresses violations identified during those post. Britains bp, owner of the texas city plant, said terrorism was not thought to be responsible for the blast, which shook buildings five miles 8km away. Investigators in texas are trying to find out what caused a huge explosion at an oil refinery that killed at least 14 people and injured more than 100. Bp sold texas oil refinery after making hundreds of people. That refinery produces gasoline, kerosene, oil, and several other petroleum products. Firefighters pour water on the smoldering isom unit following the explosion that rocked the bp refinery wednesday, march 23, 2005, in texas city.
Bp corporate and texas city refinery background on march 23, 2005, an explosion and fires occurred at the bp refinery in texas city, texas, 30 miles southeast of houston. No fatalities after texas valero refinery explosion video. On april 16, 1947, a small fire broke out among bags of ammonium nitrate fertilizer in the hold of the ship grandcamp as it lay docked at texas city, texas. Bp admits blame for texas oil disaster business the.
My research will focus on the 2005 texas city oil refinery explosion. The isomerization isom process unit, where the incident occurred, was one of. Bp texas city clean air act settlement enforcement us epa. Theres been a refinery explosion in texas city, texas. The blast killed 15 workers and injured 180, with many of the survivors suffering. The blast set off a chain of fires as well as a 15foot 4. Ethical concerns regarding the bp texas city oil refinery. The board approved its final report by a vote of 50 at a public meeting in texas city on march 20, 2007. Hazardex valero texas city refinery hit by explosion, fire. Media in category texas city refinery explosion the following 4 files are in this category, out of 4 total. The texas city refinery has a refinery capacity of 84,000 bpd.
Essay bp texas city oil refinery explosion 2005 case summary. The bp texas city refinery disaster, respected ohs expert professor andrew hopkins discusses the causes of a major explosion at the texas city oil refinery on march 23, 2005, that killed 15 workers and injured more than 170 others. Valeros texas city refinery hit by explosion, fire aol news. The bp texas city refinery disaster reprint by andrew hopkins isbn. The texas city disaster was an industrial accident that occurred april 16, 1947, in the port of texas city, texas, at galveston bay. Ten years after a texas city refinery blast killed 15 and rattled a community, workers keep dying. Due to lack of funding and focus on safety, employees were often undertrained and lacked adequate supervision for process startup or changeover. Following the explosion and fire, epa conducted a series of inspections to determine bps compliance with the terms of a 2001 consent decree requiring the texas city refinery, as well as bps other u. Participatory action researchers conducted a nationwide mailback survey of united steelworkers local unions and collected data from 51 unionized refineries. May 17, 2005 bp fired some staff and disciplined others yesterday after admitting that deeply disturbing internal mistakes led to the texas city refinery explosion which killed 15 people and injured 170.
Oil and refining fire and explosion investigation status. Explosion in the british petroleum texas city refinery. Mar 23, 2005 media in category texas city refinery explosion the following 4 files are in this category, out of 4 total. The bp refinery in texas city extends over nearly two square miles on the outskirts of galveston. Texas city, texas the lone worker unaccounted for after an explosion at a bp oil refinery has died, raising the death toll to 15 in a blast that also injured more than 100 people, officials. An animated reconstruction of the startup of the isomerization unit at the bp texas city refinery. The blast killed 15 workers and injured 180, with many of.
A midmorning fire started on board the frenchregistered vessel ss grandcamp docked in the port, and detonated her cargo of approximately 2,200 tons. Explosion at bp refinery, texas city, texas internet archive. Bp documents highlight pr strategy after deadly texas blast. This article needs additional citations for verification. Bp fired some staff and disciplined others yesterday after admitting that deeply disturbing internal mistakes led to the texas city refinery explosion which killed 15.
The texas city refinery was the secondlargest oil refinery in the state, and the thirdlargest in the. I will attempt to look into the ethical implications that surrounded this disaster before and show more content the alarm was acknowledged, but the problem was not addressed and the alarm remained on. Failure to learn the bp texas city refinery disaster. Nbc4 refinery explosion in texas city, texas facebook. Jul 23, 2015 a look into the ethical issues behind the engineering disaster. Today, those affected have played a role in changing the way safety is viewed in the petroleum industry, an industry brimming with aggies. Unprecedented flooding from the category 4 storm that. Human errors also played a major role in the texas city refinery explosion. Texas city explosion of 1947 industrial disaster, texas. Texas city is also the site of a massive explosion that killed at least 576.
Kiewit offshore services fabricated 39 refinery modules at the ingleside facility to alleviate the workforce needed on site at the texas city refinery 2010. The texas city refinery explosion occurred on march 23, 2005, when a hydrocarbon vapor cloud was ignited and violently exploded at the isom isomerization process unit at bps texas city refinery in texas city, texas, killing 15 workers, injuring 180 others and severely damaging the refinery. Explosion at bp refinery, texas city, texas 2005 csb maintains an extensive video presence at csb. Essay bp texas city oil refinery explosion 2005 case. A look into the ethical issues behind the engineering disaster. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. The company was trying to persuade everyone that it was an environmental friendly company that was using and develop. Texas city explosion of 1947, industrial disaster sparked by the fire and explosion of the ss grandcamp on april 1617, 1947, in texas city, texas.
An explosion set off a huge fire at valero energy corps 225,000 barrelperday bpd texas city, texas, refinery on thursday afternoon but the fire was quickly contained, according the city of. The explosion on thursday is thought to have occurred at the sites 12,000 bbld alkylation unit, reuters reports. Participatory action researchers conducted a nationwide mailback survey of united steelworkers local unions and collected data from 51. Apr 14, 2020 a giant explosion occurs during the loading of fertilizer onto the freighter grandcamp at a pier in texas city, texas, on april 16, 1947. Bp documents highlight pr strategy after deadly texas. Refinery explosion and fire, texas city, texas, march 23, 2005 open pdf 7 mb the u. Fiery explosion at huge bp oil refinery in texas city, tex, kills at least 14 people and injures more than 100. The british petroleum bp refinery in texas city, texas is the third largest oil refinery plant in the u. Operations include crude distillation, catalytic cracking, alkylation, reforming, aromatics extraction and sulfur recovery. Failure to learn the bp texas city refinery disaster book, 2016. The billowing canopies went up on a bare patch of the texas city refinery grounds during a repair. On wednesday, march 23 2005, numerous explosions, and a fire, occurred at bp texas city refinery, texas, usa. Between 400 and 600 people were killed, with as many as 4,000 injured. Accidental short report on texas city refinery explosion 2005.
The march 2005 british petroleum bp texas city refinery disaster provided a stimulus to examine the state of process safety in the u. Professionalismbp texas city refinery explosion wikibooks. Bp admits blame for texas oil disaster business the guardian. Explosion occurs at marathons texas city refinery houston. Chemical safety and hazard investigation board csb investigated not only bps safety performance at texas city, but also the role played by bp group management, based in london, england. For the 2005 oil refinery fire, see texas city refinery explosion. Despite immediate attempts to extinguish the fire, it rapidly intensified until the grandcamp exploded in a blast that caused massive loss of life and property. The refinery, the companys largest worldwide, can produce about 10 million gallons of gasoline per day about 2. An explosion and fire has hit valero energys 225,000 bbld texas city refinery, with no injuries reported. The texas city refinery explosion occurred on march 23, 2005, when a hydrocarbon vapour cloud exploded at the isom isomerization process unit at bps texas city refinery in texas city, texas. The morning of 16 april 1947 dawned clear and crisp, cooled by a brisk north wind. Some 2,300 tons were already onboard, 880 of which were in the lower part of.
The texas city disaster was an industrial accident that occurred april 16, 1947, in the port of. Explosion hits valeros texas city refinery news the. Jun 16, 2010 coon represented many of the victims of the march 2005 explosion at bps refinery in texas city, near houston. British petroleum company and texas city refinery background. Bp took its name from the initials of the companys previous official name british petroleum. In the ensuing chaos, no one gave much thought to the ship in the next slip. Texas city the only worker still missing after the explosion of bps texas city refinery was found dead in the plants rubble today, bringing the death toll to 15. Coon represented many of the victims of the march 2005 explosion at bps refinery in texas city, near houston.
I will attempt to look into the ethical implications that surrounded this disaster before and show more content the alarm was acknowledged, but the problem was not addressed and the alarm remained on even after the explosion 11 hours later. A giant explosion occurs during the loading of fertilizer onto the freighter grandcamp at a pier in texas city, texas, on april 16, 1947. The bp texas city oil refinery is the third largest oil refinery in the u. Nov 05, 2015 the texas city refinery explosion occurred on march 23, 2005, when a hydrocarbon vapour cloud exploded at the isom isomerization process unit at bps texas city refinery in texas city, texas. Chemical safety and hazard investigation board explosion at bp refinery, texas city, texas 2005 csb maintains an extensive video presence at csb. On march 23, 2005, a fire and explosion occurred at bps texas city refinery in texas city, texas, killing 15 workers and injuring more than 170 others.
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