Safer practices and better steel could have prevented a deadly explosion at the Tesoro refinery in Anacortes, Wash., in 2010, according to a new report from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board.
Scott Butner via Flickr
It's been a rough week for Tesoro in the press.
First KUOW exposed that no one's been held accountable (though Tesoro is responsible) for Washington's worst industrial accident in 50 years. Then yesterday the Sightline Institute, a liberal think tank in Seattle, called into question the company's national safety record.
Tesoro is a major player in the Northwest's energy sector. Its refinery in Anacortes can handle 120,000 barrels per day, supplying fuel for much of Washington and Oregon.
In Vancouver, Washington, Tesoro is behind what's become a highly controversial proposal to create the region's largest oil-shipping terminal moving 380,000 barrels off trains and onto ships per day. That oil would come from North Dakota's Bakken oil fields by rail -- a practice that's caused widespread concern after a string of explosions involving such trains.
So the company wasn't likely to escape scrutiny.
On Sunday, KUOW retold the horror of a blast that killed seven people and explained how Tesoro remains largely unscathed. Efforts to fine the company at both the federal and state levels have stalled. No one has been brought up on criminal charges. Though Tesoro has agreed to pay millions to the families of the dead workers, its attorneys have fought penalties in the accident every step of the way.
On Thursday the Sightline Institute's report claimed Vancouver residents have reason to be worried about Tesoro operating a terminal there. The institute has been highly critical of fossil fuel transports through the Northwest -- first coal and now oil by rail.
"The company has a demonstrated track record of flouting safety rules, injuring workers, polluting local air, and meddling in politics," the report states. Among the examples it provides:
The 2010 explosion. After the blast, investigators said the company was "complacent" about safety, and they issued 39 violations.
Air quality violations. One Tesoro-owned refinery in North Dakota racked up more than 4,000 clean air act violations, and others around the country have tallied hundreds more.
Uncooperative with regulators. During pipeline bursts, the company has delayed telling bystanders and hindered federal investigators on scene.
Sightline and other groups (like the Vancouver Action Network, for one, which actually counted trains and also led a campaign to write over 50 public records requests for oil train routes) have a long way to go in their quest to sound the alarm about oil trains.
The findings of a recent EarthFix poll actually suggests that most Northwest residents aren't paying attention to the region's Great Oil Train Debate. A majority of those surveyed said they support oil transport via rail for domestic use.
-- Tony Schick