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A fire and explosion on February
23, 1999 left four employees dead and one seriously injured.
According to OSHA investigators, Tosco failed to isolate the naptha piping
from the operating process prior to conducting maintenance work that involved
cutting into and removing a portion of the line. Failure to isolate the line and remove the contents allowed naptha to flow
through the line onto the hot surfaces of the adjoining fractionator tower, and ignite, causing a fire that spread up and down the tower and engulfed
the workers.
Here are some additional resources and background material about the
incident, and about the Plant.
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Tosco to Sell Avon Refinery to
Ultramar Diamond Shamrock (7/6/00) (link)
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Arthur D. Little, Draft Follow-Up
Safety Evaluation of the Tosco Avon Refinery (1/15/00) (.PDF,
199K)
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Chemical Safety Board public
comments and board of inquiry transcripts (9/15/99) (.DOC,
105K)
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Contra Costa County Investigation
into the causes of the fire of February 23, 1999 at No. 50 Crude Unit
Tosco (8/5/99) (link)
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Cal/OSHA Issues Highest Penalty in
its History Against Tosco (8/4/99) (link)
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Cal/OSHA Citation Details (8/4/99)
(.RTF, 38K)
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Contra Costa County Investigation
Report (7/28/99) (.PDF,
432K)
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Arthur D. Little, Initial Safety
Evaluation of the Tosco Avon Refinery (5/10/99) (.PDF,
580K)
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