The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) announced Thursday it has cited the Valero refinery in Benicia and three contractors for violations that led to the death of a worker there last November and is proposing a total of $1.75 million in fines.
Valero was cited for both “willful and serious” and “serious” violations that come with a proposed penalty of $528,750, according to Cal/OSHA. The oil giant, which reported earnings of $114 billion in 2021, was cited four times for either knowingly violating the law or not taking reasonable steps to address a known hazard.
Luis Gutierrez, 35, died after losing consciousness due to an argon leak inside the space in which he was working, Cal/OSHA officials said. Gutierrez had descended via a safety harness down into a regenerator overflow well to evaluate the condition of its interior and prep it for a welding project.
Authorities determined that argon escaping from a welding torch that had been left in the well overtook Gutierrez’ oxygen in the confined space, suffocating him.
Valero was cited for failing to follow confined space guidelines and failing to determine acceptable entry conditions for Gutierrez, which exposed him to the oxygen-deficient atmosphere.
In addition to the oil giant, three contractors were cited, two of which were for “willful” violations.
Total Safety, a special trade contractor out of Houston, with the motto “When Safety Matters, We’re Ready,” according to its website, was given six “willful” violations, seven “serious” violations,” and four “general” violations, with a recommended penalty of $988,000.
JT Thrope & Son Inc., a masonry contractor out of Richmond, was cited for one “willful serious” violation, one “serious” violation, and four regulatory violations, with a recommended fine of $135,500.
Building contractor TRSC Inc. racked up eight “willful serious” violations, three general violations, and five regulatory violations, with proposed penalties of $101,125.
Cal/OSHA says the correct thing to do when placing workers in confined situations is to identify and label them as such, establish and maintain onsite emergency response plans and provide training for workers and supervisors.
I was just reading a thread on another site about how dangerous confined spaces can be and all the necessary precautions good companies make when they expose their workers to them.
They need an OSHA permit, confined space training, air quality testing, approved PPE/Monitors/Breathing apparatus, a doctor on hand to fit the respirator, etc.
This is a very tragic situation that could have been easily avoided. The gas/oxygen sensor hadn’t been lowered to the bottom of the confined space. They were also using cameras to monitor his condition instead of an actual human being on-site. Supposedly he was in a blind spot and they didn’t find him until an hour after he had passed out.
Technology is good only when used properly. It does have the tendency to make us lazy and overlook important things.
There is 1 million things that will kill you in a refinery and all you need to do is find one. God bless refinery workers and the job they do, staffing these important jobs 24 hours a day seven days a week simply so you can have gasoline anytime you want it.
+1
At the Chevron Refinery in Richmond, confined space atmosphere is checked for oxygen, H2S and combustibles any time workers re-enter the space. And always at Start of work, return from lunch, and anytime workers re-enter – atmospheric conditions are checked.
All of these confined space entries should have REAL time sampling/recording, checked by separate analyzers.
Inert entries are extremely tricky, but this was not an inert entry…
They made $115 BILLION, with a B (according to the article). Certainly they can afford it…
Profit BEFORE safety is BS. I hope they make it hurt, and have Cal-OSHA and Fed – OSHA at every entry. Hell, lets add the CSB too.