Chairman Miller Statement on BP Texas City Settlement
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued the following statement after the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and BP agreed to pay $50 million in fines to settle unresolved safety violations at its Texas City refinery, representing the largest worker health and safety fine in U.S. history. BP also pledged $500 million to improve safety. “Today’s announcement demonstrates a clear commitment to worker safety by the leadership of this Department of Labor and OSHA. Penalties for corporations who consistently put workers’ lives in danger must be more than just the cost of doing business,” said Miller. “While OSHA’s fine against BP for violations that occurred after the horrific explosion at its Texas City refinery is historic, strong sanctions in the past clearly did little to spur the company to improve. BP’s commitment to make significant safety enhancements must be closely monitored to ensure they live up to the promise they made today.”
In March 2005, 15 workers were killed and 180 others were injured in an explosion at BP's Texas City, TX facility. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) released an investigative report in 2007 blaming BP for cost cutting that led to malfunctioning equipment and overworked and undertrained employees. CSB also blamed OSHA for failing in its investigative responsibilities. On Thursday, March 22, 2007, the Education and Labor Committee heard testimony examining what went wrong at BP and OSHA with the goal of preventing future disasters.
In July, the Education and Labor Committee approved legislation that would empower workers to speak up about safety concerns and give the Department of Labor the tools it needs to ensure that all workers go home safely at the end of the day.
More information on the Texas City explosion
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