Anniversary of Tragic Accidents in Texas Underscore Commitment to Chemical Plant Safety
While
everyone is rightfully focused on today’s crisis and doing everything possible
to mitigate the impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), we cannot afford to
overlook other important challenges to our industry.
This
month marks the one-year anniversary of the tragic fires that occurred at the
Intercontinental Terminals Company (ITC) and KMCO facilities in the Houston
Ship Channel. Both incidents resulted in fires that burned for days. The fires were finally brought under control
thanks to the brave efforts of hundreds of emergency responders who worked
tirelessly around the clock.
The
impact of these two fires were felt well beyond the fence line of each of the
facilities and the fires had a profound impact on the Ship Channel and beyond.
A worker lost his life and several others were injured as a result of the
incidents. The fires caused damage to the surrounding community and smoke from
the fires created concern for the people living in the Houston
area.
The
consequences of events like these bring hard lessons that must not be
squandered or ignored. That is why under ACC’s Responsible Care®
Process Safety Code members evaluate the circumstances of each incident and
learn from their own experiences, as well as the experiences of other
companies.
Our
commitment to safety is embodied in the Responsible Care program, the chemical
industry’s leading environmental, health, safety, and security performance
initiative. Participation in Responsible Care, including third party audits and
certification, is mandatory for membership in ACC and for ACC Partner
companies, including chemical transporters, distributors, warehouses, logistics
planners, and others along the supply chain.
We
recently put that commitment into action by working with the Texas Chemical
Council and the East Harris County Manufacturers Association to bring together
a group of safety experts from our member companies to identify lessons from
the ITC and KMCO accidents.
The group made several recommendations, including ways to enhance air monitoring capabilities, emergency response and the design and performance of above ground storage tanks. The group’s recommendations have yielded tangible results, including a $1 million dollar grant to Harris County to enhance the region’s air monitoring capabilities during an incident. The grant will allow the County to put more stationary and mobile air monitors in place and help officials contract with local experts to process air monitoring data quicker. The grant will help address some of the recommendations offered in the County’s gap analysis to address future incidents and was made possible thanks in part to the leadership of Harris County Commissioner, Adrian Garcia
This
commitment to continually look for opportunities to enhance safety is also why
we support the mission of the Chemical Safety Board and why ACC recently asked Congress and
the White House
to fill the vacancies at the Board. The Chemical
Safety Board has the important job of independently investigating major
incidents and making recommendations. Its findings are valuable, influential
and a catalyst for safety improvements across the industry.
Our industry has demonstrated that we can improve the safety of
our operations by learning from each other. Major incidents like the ones that
occurred in Texas a year ago remind us that we can and must do better for the
safety of our workers and our neighbors.
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