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The Tosco fire of February 23, 1999, has been well documented in the press, but
AcuSafe presents a timeline of events as a means of educating and to illustrate the issues facing companies in these situations. AcuSafe has begun maintaining an ongoing history of links for process safety incidents for our reader's education.
| February 23, 1999:
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A flash fire at Tosco distillation tower kills one worker and severely burns four others.
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February 25, 1999:
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3 injured workers died from their injuries making the total number of fatalities 4 from the event. The County Hazardous Materials Commission calls for a temporary shutdown of the refinery.
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| February 27, 1999:
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All five county supervisors call for a voluntary shutdown until investigators can determine whether the refinery is safe.
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| March 2, 1999:
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Tosco agrees to shut down the refinery during safety investigation, but warns the plant may not reopen.
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March 22, 1999:
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Early Tosco report blames "human error'' for the fatal fire.
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| April 15, 1999:
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County consultants find flawed "safety culture" at refinery in Preliminary investigation of areas other than that with the fire.
A copy of the report is available at AcuSafe (.PDF, 580K)
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April 27, 1999:
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Tosco announces it will reopen refinery; agrees to adopt all 72 recommendations of safety consultants.
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| July
29, 1999:
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County
investigators conclude management failure was the root cause of
the blaze. Read the final report at AcuSafe (.PDF, 432K)
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| August 4, 1999:
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Cal-OSHA imposes a record $810,750 fine on Tosco for 33 workplace safety violations. Read all the citations at AcuSafe
(.RTF,
38K)
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| July 31, 1999:
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Tosco refinery resumes full production.
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| September 15, 1999:
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U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board initial report says tower where fire erupted was so corroded that safe repairs were impossible with unit running. Full transcript
of the board of inquiry meeting is available (.DOC,
108K).
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| January 6, 2000:
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Tosco pleads no contest to five criminal violations and agrees to pay penalties close to $2 million. Tosco will pay the maximum fine of $945,000 and up to $100,000 in county investigative costs and will contribute $1 million to help develop a county health clinic at a former Hospital in a nearby community.
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February 4, 2000:
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Contra Costa County district attorney announces that no individual workers or managers involved in the refinery accident will be criminally charged.
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| February 8, 2000:
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Final follow-up from Safety Consultants reports that all follow-up activities are complete or under way. See full report
(.PDF,
199K). County Supervisors ask Health Department to develop internal inspection plans.
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| February 16, 2000:
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The local press reports that Tosco terminated the Lead Operator and the Maintenance Supervisor for the area (as well as unconfirmed reports of several others).
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| April 5, 2000:
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Supervisors decide they want more than the two extra inspectors form the county's Hazardous Materials Program. Additional staff is recommended to begin unannounced checkups of 27 oil and chemical plants.
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This dateline will be updated as events continue to unfold. Upcoming milestones include:
- Chemical Safety Board Report with findings and recommendations.
- Final OSHA settlement on fines
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AcuTech Consulting,
©2002, All Rights Reserved
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