Federal chemicals safety agency slams Tesoro for unsafe working practices at its Martinez site

The United States Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), in a 60-page report issued last Tuesday, August 2 showed that San Antonio, Texas-based petroleum refineries company Tesoro Corp. failed to follow basic safety procedures over a period of many years that caused 19 employees to be injured or be exposed to injury.

The Golden Eagle Refinery in Martinez, California was the site of two major sulfuric acid accidents – one in 1999 and another in 2014 – that caused injuries, some fatal, to many workers.

CSB said the second accident on March 10, 2014, which released 84,000 pounds of sulfuric acid, had similarities to the 1999 incident at the refinery when it was owned by a different company that caused the death of four people; this situation implies that Tesoro did not change safety practices to avoid similar acid spills after it bought the Martinez facility in 2002.

Workers in the state of Texas are provided with legal protections under state and federal law that are made to make sure that they get fair and equal treatment from their employers, and also to be assured that they are provided a safe working environment by their employers. Call our attorneys at The Melton Law Firm at (512) 330-0017 if these safeguards are not being met.