For more information, go to: BP Investigation Page

Washington, DC, March 26, 2007 - The Chemical Safety Board (CSB) today released online the Investigation Report on the BP Texas City refinery explosion and fire that killed 15 and injured 180 others on March 23, 2005. CSB board members voted to approve the report in draft form at a public meeting in Texas City on March 20, 2007. At over 300 pages, the report, which may be viewed and downloaded at www.csb.gov, contains hyperlinks to internal BP documents that support many of the key findings in the report. These documents may be found on the CSB's BP Investigation Page.The public release of these documents was approved by BP.

"This report is the most comprehensive chemical accident report the CSB has produced," said CSB Chairman Carolyn Merritt. "It describes in detail how the accident occurred, the human factors such as operator fatigue that contributed to it, safety deficiencies at the facility, equipment design issues, unsafe placement of work trailers, the lack of process safety analysis, cuts in operations and maintenance costs and lack of investment in safer equipment, and a thorough analysis of BP's safety culture."

Ms. Merritt continued, " It is our hope that this report and its recommendations will not only help guide BP in the future, but will be useful throughout the chemical industry as an object lesson on what happens when a corporation's safety culture fails."

Don Holmstrom, lead investigator said, "Throughout the process of investigation, analysis, and writing, we have worked to present as clear a picture as possible of what led to the tragedy on March 23rd, 2005. We are certain the findings and conclusions will be of benefit to all in the chemical industry."

The CSB is an independent federal agency charged with investigating industrial chemical accidents. The agency's board members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. CSB investigations look into all aspects of chemical accidents, including physical causes such as equipment failure as well as inadequacies in regulations, industry standards, and safety management systems. The Board does not issue citations or fines but does make safety recommendations to plants, industry organizations, labor groups, and regulatory agencies such as OSHA and EPA. Visit our website, www.csb.gov.

For more information, contact:

Sandy Gilmour 202-261-7614 or cell 202-251-5496, Public Affairs Specialist Kate Baumann 202-261-7612 or cell 202-725-2204, Public Affairs Specialist Jennifer Jones 202-261-3603, or cell 202-577-8448.