June 22, 2011
The United Steelworkers Union has taken aim at Exxon Mobil Corporation’s refinery in Baytown, Texas, following an accident where a worker was burned by steam on Tuesday, June 14.
Two days after the incident the union issued a statement that publicly criticizes the 560,640-barrel-per-day refinery, which—the steelworkers say—is responsible for 33 safety incidents since 2010.
The latest injured employee was burned while operating a steam-vent valve on a flexicoker and suffered burns on 25 percent of his body. A helicopter transported him to a Houston hospital.
“This incident proves ExxonMobil must do a better job on process safety,” says USW International Vice President Gary Beevers. “Fortunately [the victim] is in stable condition at the Hermann hospital in Houston and is expected to recover. Our union is conducting an exhaustive investigation into finding the root causes of this incident so that it doesn’t happen again … These 33 occurrences prove there are far too many process safety incidents at this refinery. Since the Baytown facility is the nation’s largest refinery it should lead the way in process safety.”
In a separate statement, Exxon spokeswoman Kristen Hellmer responded, “We regret that an ExxonMobil employee working in the Baytown Complex was injured … In-plant medical personnel responded, and the individual was transported for treatment.”
The United Steelworkers Union lays claim to 850,000 members, making it the largest industrial union in North America.
Have you or someone you know been injured in an on-the-job Texas accident?
The Texas workers compensation lawyers at Terry Bryant Accident & Injury Law may be able to help.
