Record Fine Assessed in Fatal Fire at Oil Refinery

Cal/OSHA, the state’s worker safety agency, said Wednesday that Tosco Corp. failed to correct hazards that resulted in a fatal fire at its Northern California refinery, and it hit the oil company with record penalties of $810,750.

The agency, formally known as the California Department of Industrial Relations’ Division of Occupational Safety and Health, said it is still conducting a separate criminal investigation into the Feb. 23 accident, which killed four workers and critically injured a fifth.

The workers at the Avon refinery in Martinez, near San Francisco, were repairing a line carrying naphtha, a byproduct of the oil-refining process. The chemical leaked, doused the workers and then flowed to hot surfaces of an adjoining oil-distilling tower. The naphtha ignited and fire engulfed the workers.

Tosco’s spokesman could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Tosco can appeal the citations and penalties within 15 working days to the Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board in Sacramento.

Findings from the criminal investigation will be given in a confidential report to the Contra Costa County district attorney’s office, which will determine if criminal charges are warranted.

Independent consultants hired by Contra Costa County Health Services determined in April that disputes between workers and supervisors had impeded communication and impaired safety at the refinery.

The outcry after the accident led Tosco to close the refinery. It began reopening last month.

The Tosco accident was the worst in a series of recent oil refinery problems in California that have reduced the supply of gasoline in the state and sharply increased prices at the pump.

Cal/OSHA cited Tosco Refining Co., a subsidiary of Stamford, Conn.-based Tosco Corp., with 33 alleged violations of state workplace safety regulations; proposed penalties range from $250 to $70,000 per incident.

Sixteen of the alleged violations were classified as “willful,” which indicates that the employer committed an intentional violation or was aware of a hazard but made no effort to eliminate it, Cal/OSHA officials said. Those proposed penalties total $730,000.

“The Cal/OSHA investigation found that Tosco failed to isolate the naphtha piping from the operating process prior to conducting maintenance work that involved cutting into and removing a portion of the line,” said Cal/OSHA Chief John Howard. “Failure to isolate the line and remove the contents allowed naphtha to flow through the line,” causing the fire, he said.

The Tosco fine is the largest ever assessed against a single employer by Cal/OSHA, Howard said.

Tosco, which has a reputation for aggressive cost-cutting, also operates a refining complex in Southern California, with connected plants in Carson and Wilmington, and a refinery in Santa Maria. Tosco bought the refineries, 1,100 gasoline stations and the 76 brand name from Unocal Corp. in 1997.