BP safety record takes a dive

According to Group Chief Executive, John Browne in the company’s Sustainability Report 2005, 26 of the 27 who died in 2005 were contractors while, in 2004, seven of the 11 workforce fatalities were contractors. Fifteen of the deaths in 2005 as well as many injuries, occurred on March 23 in an industrial accident at the Texas City refinery, Browne noted in the report.

In addition, he said, there were 12 other workforce fatalities in BP’s operations, ten of which were transport-related while 23 members of the public died in incidents related to BP activities, 21 of which were road accidents.

During 2005, Browne said, there were 305 reported days away from work cases (injuries that resulted in lost time) 120 of which resulted from the Texas City incident. This, he pointed out compares with 230 cases in 2004 and 461 in 1999.

He noted that, apart from cases that required only first-aid (as defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), an additional 1,139 reported injuries in 2005 required medical treatment. Combining all the injuries and fatalities, he said, the reported total recordable injury frequency for 2005 was 0.53 (per 200,000 hours worked), compared with 0.53 in 2004 and 1.42 in 1999.

The Texas City incident, he emphasised, was a major setback to BP’s improving safety record but assured that the company is now taking “renewed and further action” to prevent a repetition of another major incident and to bring about focused improvements on safety performance.

He highlighted that in 2005, the integrity of BP’s operations was also severely challenged by hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which struck some of the company’s US assets.

“BP’s internal investigation team found that critical factors leading to the incident included failure to follow procedures, people being located in temporary trailers too close to the blow-down stack, and missed opportunities to install inherently safer light hydrocarbon control options,” Browne said.

BP, he said, has set aside $700 million in compensation and reached settlements with many of the injured and bereaved.

With regards to dismissals, Browne noted that in 2005, 478 employees and contractors were dismissed for unethical behaviour or non-compliance with applicable laws or regulations (excluding retail site dismissals for petty incidents).

“The main reasons for dismissals were safety and security breaches and incidences of theft and misuse of company property,” he said.He added that seventy-seven contracts with suppliers were either terminated or not renewed during the year on the same basis, with the main causes of termination including breaches of BP’s Health, Safety, Security and Environment (HSSE) policies, fraud and conflicts of interest.

“The increase in dismissals, compared with 252 cases in 2004, may be partly explained by a further improvement of reporting process in this area, together with a greater awareness of what constitutes unethical behaviour or non-compliance within the group due to the launch o the code of conduct,” he pointed out.