Refineries
An Investment in Safety
Although refineries work hard to prevent accidents, on site or in neighboring areas, it is equally important for them to have warning systems in place to insure minimum damage and loss should an incident occur.
In 2005, OSHA fined BP more than $21 million, following a refinery explosion in Texas City, Texas. A substantial amount of those damages were related to safety and warning systems that were incomplete, inoperable, or not working. The cost of installing BaseAlert is modest compared to a refinery incident, which can result in human and plant loss, as well as hefty fines and long-term litigation
Following the BP incident, Solicitor of Labor Howard M. Radzely said, “This citation and penalty - nearly double the next largest fine in OSHA history - sends a strong message to all employers about the need to protect workers and to make health and safety a core value.”
The use of BaseAlert’s suite of tested and reliable alerting systems could have mitigated much of this catastrophic event. For example, some of the cited violations include items that are part of a BaseAlert analysis or installation.
- Failure to evaluate alarms and instruments for design reliability and integrity of process systems to determine criticality or determine Safe Integrity Level $2,170,000
- Failure to warn employees of the developing fire and explosion conditions $70,000
- Failure to provide appropriate training to the incident management team $7,000
Instant alerts for every kind of incident
Each refinery needs to conduct business in a socially responsible and ethical manner that protects safety, health, and the environment. With BaseAlert, refinery management will be aided in documenting and defining safety systems that protect employees, the community, and the environment.
A BaseAlert system will help refineries comply with risk management requirements or mandates, meet ongoing regulatory or technology changes in a communications infrastructure, and—most important—save people’s lives and protect their welfare should disaster strike.
Instant alerts to plant employees and neighboring community in cases of:
- Explosions, natural or manmade
- Accidental releases of chemicals, gases and other dangers
- Accidents during transport of toxic materials
