Arco Chemical Fined for Fatal Explosion
HOUSTON — Federal regulators today proposed a record $3.48 million in fines against Arco Chemical Co. for a July 5, 1990, blast that ripped through a plant in Channelview, Tex., killing 17 workers and injuring at least eight others.
Arco Chemical agreed to pay the fine and also agreed to a major revamping of workplace safety programs at its facilities across the country.
The fine was announced by the Labor Department, following the issuance of citations for violations of federal workplace safety rules by the department’s Occupational Safety & Health Administration. The settlement agreement was signed by Arco and OSHA officials in Washington.
Assistant Labor Secretary Gerard Scannel said the willful penalties were $10,000 each for 347 violations.
The explosion, the worst accident in the plant’s 13-year history, sent a fireball 200 feet into the air, moving mobile homes off their foundations up to 3 miles away and virtually leveling a square-block area within the sprawling complex just east of Houston.
Of the 17 people who died in the blast and fire, 12 worked for companies that provide maintenance or other services at the plant on a contract basis, one was a contract truck driver and five were Arco employees.
At the time of the blast, Arco spokesmen said maintenance work was being done near the explosion site, a 900,000-gallon tank that was filled to capacity with flammable liquid.
A number of lawsuits resulted from the blast. They accused Arco and contracting companies of negligence in allegedly failing to repair and examine equipment.
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