Safety experts for BP PLC warned their bosses of the potential for a "major site incident" 2,5 years before an explosion at the company's Texas City refinery killed 15 people, according to a CBS report.
According to CBS, one worker wrote, "This place is set up for a catastrophic failure."
BP's top refinery executive, John Manzoni, has said under oath he didn't know of serious safety concerns until the explosion.
The explosion occurred when faulty sensors did not warn of gathering vapours near the isomerization unit, which boosts the level of octane in gasoline. The vapours ignited as the unit was starting up.
The chief government official investigating the explosions said the accident was preventable.
"The problems that existed at BP Texas City were neither momentary nor superficial. They ran deep through that operation of a risk denial and a risk blindness that was not being addressed anywhere in the organization," said Carolyn Merritt, who was appointed by U.S. President George W. Bush to head the U.S. Chemical Safety Board and has led an 18-month investigation into what happened at Texas City.
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BP Did Not Prevent the Incident
The chief government official investigating the explosions said the accident was preventable