A damning report on the 2013 deadly explosion at a Williams Company Olefins plant in Louisiana has been issued by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, a report that said a poor “safety culture” led to the blast that killed two workers in Geismar, Louisiana.
“The report concludes that process safety management program deficiencies at the Williams Geismar facility during the 12 years leading to the incident allowed a type of heat exchanger called a “reboiler” to be unprotected from overpressure, and ultimately rupture, causing the explosion,” stated the report from the CSB.
The plant produces ethylene and propylene for the petrochemical industry and employs nearly 110 people. About 800 contractors worked at the plant on an expansion project aimed at increasing the production of ethylene.
“The CSB investigation revealed a poor process safety culture at the Williams Geismar facility, resulting in anumber of process safety management program weaknesses. These include deficiencies in implementing Management of Change (MOC), Pre-Startup Safety Review (PSSR), Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) programs, and procedure programs causal to the incident,” continued the report.
The report indicated the heat increased in the reboiler resulting in “a dramatic pressure rise within the vessel. The reboiler shell catastrophically ruptured, causing a boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion and fire.”
In addition to the two workers who were killed, 167 others reported injuries.
CSB Chairperson Vanessa Allen Sutherland said, “The tragic accident at Williams was preventable and therefore unacceptable. This report provides important safety lessons that we urge other companies to review and incorporate within their own facilities.”