OSHA cites four employers
Federal job safety regulators have cited four employers, including the largest oil and gas producer in Colorado, for exposing employees to health and safety hazards in connection with a May 2017 explosion at a tank battery construction project that left one employee dead and three others with third-degree burns.
The companies face $70,711 in proposed penalties, according to a statement released Thursday from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
The companies cited are Anadarko Petroleum Corp., Energes Services LLC, Dominguez Welding LLC and Unlimited Services LLC.
Workers were merging two tank batteries into a single battery operated by Anadarko in Mead in May 2017 when the explosion and fire occurred. OSHA inspectors found that flammable vapors or gases ignited as employees worked near pipes connected to a crude oil tank.
Oscar Lopez Velasquez, 32, of Greeley, died in the May 25 explosion in unincorporated Weld County in the 6400 block of Colorado 66. Fire officials scoured the area and found nearby homes were not at risk.
Anadarko has been under scrutiny for owning a well linked to a deadly Firestone house explosion April 17. The site of the oil tank explosion is about four miles north of the Firestone house that exploded.
OSHA on Thursday cited the employers in the Mead incident for introducing potential ignition sources into work areas containing flammable gases or vapors; not isolating flammable gases or vapors from welding activity; and not adequately inspecting the worksite and addressing safety hazards including an excavation.
Each company has held an informal conference with OSHA’s Denver Area Office to discuss and attempt to resolve the citations, according to the statement from OSHA.
“We appreciate OSHA’s comprehensive review of this tragic accident, and we take the findings very seriously,” Anadarko spokeswoman Jennifer Brice said in a statement Thursday. “Since the accident, we have been reviewing our processes and procedures as part our commitment for continual improvement around safety and will continue to work with OSHA on any additional steps it may recommend.”