Environmental Violations Lead to Death, Criminal Indictments in Texas

A federal grand jury indicted Port Arthur Chemical and Environmental Services LLC (PACES) and its former president, Matthew L. Bowman, on charges of conspiracy to illegally transport hazardous materials resulting in the deaths of two employees.  The 13-count indictment describes a scheme in which hazardous materials were transported illegally with false documents and without placards, and where workers were not properly protected from exposure to hazardous gases.  The exposure resulted in the deaths of two truck-driver employees at the PACES facility on not one, but two occasions, in December 2008 and April 2009.  Both deaths were attributed to exposure to hydrogen sulfide.

The defendants were charged with conspiracy to violate the Hazardous Materials Transportation Uniform Safety Act (HMTUSA) and two counts of failure to implement appropriate controls to protect employees from exposure to hydrogen sulfide in violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Act.  The defendants were also charged with transportation of hazardous materials without placards, falsifying documents in violation of HMTUSA, violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and making false statements to government officials.

 According to the indictment, Bowman was president and owner of PACES, located in Port Arthur, Texas, and CES Environmental Services (CES) located in Houston.  PACES was in operation from approximately November 2008 to November 2010, and was in the business of producing and selling caustic materials to paper mills.  The production of caustic materials involved hydrogen sulfide.  Hydrogen sulfide is classified as a poisonous gas by HMTUSA.  According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, hydrogen sulfide is an acute toxic substance that is the leading cause of sudden death in the workplace.  Employers are required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to implement engineering and safety controls to prevent employees from exposure above harmful limits.

According to the indictment, Bowman was responsible for approving and directing PACES production operations, the disposal of hydrogen sulfide wastewater, employee safety precautions, directing the transportation of PACES' wastewater, and determining what safety equipment would be purchased or maintained.

The conspiracy and substantive counts of the indictment each carry a maximum possible sentence of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 for Bowman, and a $500,000 maximum fine for the company.  Both PACES and CES have filed for bankruptcy.

Entrance to PACES facility in Port Arthur, TX.

OSHA's Expansion of the NEP Targeting Process Safety at Chemical Plants

An OSHA spokesperson announced today that the agency plans to expand its National Emphasis Program (NEP) which targets process safety at chemical plants. The current NEP was issued on July 27, 2009 and subsequently extended until September 30, 2010. The recent announcement means that the NEP will remain in place until the agency can establish a permanent directive which will expand the program nationwide. The focus of the program is to reduce or eliminate workplace hazards associated with catastrophic releases of highly hazardous chemicals. The program was originally designed as a pilot program with programmed inspections in Regions I, VII, and X, and unprogrammed inspections OSHA wide. The program is applicable to facilities that process or use highly hazardous chemicals (HHCs) in amounts at or greater than the threshold quantities listed in 29 CFR 1910.119. According to agency spokespersons, OSHA has issued over 600 violations, 86 percent of which were classified as either serious, willful, repeat, failure-to-abate, or unclassified.

Facilities subject to OSHA's Process Safety Management Standard can expect an increased number of facility inspections as a part of this effort. Facilities can also expect a greater focus on implementation over documentation during the inspections. OSHA will primarily utilize the following four sources to help prioritize the list of facilities for inspections:

a) Facilities required to submit U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Chemical Accident Prevention Provisions, Program 3 Risk Management Plans (RMP)

b) Explosives manufacturing NAICS codes

c) Facilities identified in OSHA's IMIS database as having prior PSM related incidents

d) OSHA Area Office knowledge of local facilities.