[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 49 (Wednesday, March 13, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15931-15932]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-05854]
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CHEMICAL SAFETY AND HAZARD INVESTIGATION BOARD
Sunshine Act Meeting; Request for Comments on Draft Evaluation of
Recommended Practice on Fatigue Risk Management Systems for Personnel
in the Refining and Petrochemical Industries
TIME AND DATE: April 24, 2013; 9:30 a.m. EDT.
PLACE: Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, Horizon
Room, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20004.
STATUS: Open to the public.
MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED: The Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation
Board (CSB) will convene a public meeting on Wednesday, April 24, 2013,
starting at 9:30 a.m. EDT at the Ronald Reagan Building and
International Trade Center, Horizon Room, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.,
Washington, DC 20004. At the meeting, CSB will consider and vote on the
status of Recommendation No. 2005-04-I-TX-7 issued to the American
Petroleum Institute (API) and the United Steelworkers International
Union (USW) in March 2007. This recommendation urged API and USW to
jointly lead the development of an ANSI consensus standard with
guidelines for fatigue prevention. The CSB based this recommendation on
its investigation of explosions and fires that occurred at BP's Texas
City Refinery on March 23, 2005.
In addition the Board intends to consider status designations for
the following recommendations to the U.S. Occupational Safety and
Health Administration: 2001-05-I-DE-1 (Process Safety Management
coverage of atmospheric storage tanks); 2005-04-I-TX-9 (Process Safety
Management requirement for organizational management of change
reviews); 2010-07-I-CT-1 (Regulations addressing fuel gas safety).
Subject to the call of the chairperson, the Board may consider other
recommendations-related items that have been calendared for
consideration at a public meeting.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 23, 2005, explosions and fires in
an isomerization unit (ISOM) at BP's Texas City Refinery caused 15
deaths, 180 injuries, and significant economic losses. The CSB's
investigation found that the incident was caused by multiple technical,
system, and organizational deficiencies. For detailed information on
the incident and the CSB's investigation, please refer to the CSB's
investigation report on the CSB's Web site, www.csb.gov.
Among its most important findings, the CSB concluded that the ISOM
operators were likely fatigued from working 12-hour shifts, some
working as many as 29 consecutive days during the turnaround of the
unit prior to startup, and that, as a result, the operators' judgment
and problem-solving skills were likely degraded, hindering their
ability to determine that a distillation tower in the ISOM unit was
overfilling with hydrocarbons and to take prompt corrective steps.
Accordingly, the CSB issued Recommendation No. 2005-04-I-TX-7 to API
and the USW which reads in pertinent part as follows:
[D]evelop fatigue prevention guidelines for the refining and
petrochemical industries that, at a minimum, limit hours and days of
work and address shift work.
Both API and USW initially accepted the recommendation. The API, formed
an ANSI committee that the USW joined. In August 2009, however, the USW
withdrew from the committee in protest of what it perceived to be an
imbalance in voting members (management vs. union and other
representatives). The API proceeded with the committee's work and
issued an ANSI-approved Recommended Practice (RP 755) in April 2010.
After review, the CSB staff found that RP 755 makes a contribution
to chemical safety by explicitly stating that ``workplace fatigue is a
risk to safe operations'' and also by suggesting various measures to
manage fatigue risks. However, the staff determined that RP 755 does
not fully meet the intent of the CSB recommendation in multiple
important respects, and therefore has urged the Board to vote
designating the status of Recommendation No. 2005-4-I-TX-7 as ``Open-
Unacceptable Action.''
At the meeting on April 24, 2013, the staff will present its
analysis to the Board. Following the staff presentation, the Board will
hear comments from the public. Following the conclusion of the public
comment period, the Board will consider whether to approve the proposed
evaluation and to change the status of Recommendation No. 2005-04-I-TX-
7 to ``Open-Unacceptable Action'' or to some other status in accordance
with Board Order 22.
REQUEST FOR COMMENTS: The Board welcomes public comment on the staff
evaluation and proposed disposition of Recommendation No. 2005-04-I-TX-
7. The detailed draft evaluation will be posted on the CSB Web site by
March 11, 2013, and will be available for review and comment until 5
p.m. E.D.T. on April 12, 2013. CSB encourages electronic submission of
comments. Comments should be submitted by email to
[email protected]. Comments may also be submitted by mail to
Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, Attn: Amy McCormick,
2175 K Street, NW., Suite 650, Washington, DC 20037.
Comments may be submitted in the body of the email message or as an
attached PDF, MS Word, or plain text ASCII file. Files must be virus-
free and unencrypted. Include CSB-13-01 in the subject line of the
message. Please ensure that the comments themselves, whether in the
subject line, the body of the email or in attached files, include the
docket number (CSB-13-01), the agency name, and your full name and
address.
All comment and submissions must include the agency name and docket
number. All comments received, including any personal information
provided, will be made available to the public without modifications or
deletions. While the public comments submitted before and during the
meeting will be carefully analyzed by CSB staff and the Board, the
Board does not assume any obligation to respond to comments
individually or during the public meeting. Comments received by the CSB
will be posted online in the Open Government section of the CSB Web
site, http://www.csb.gov/open.aspx.
To ask any question regarding the submission of comments or to
establish times to review these documents at CSB headquarters, please
call Amy McCormick, Board Affairs Specialist, at (202) 261-7630.
No factual analyses, conclusions, or findings presented by staff
should be considered final. Only after the Board has considered the
staff presentations, listened to public comments, and voted to approve
a change in status of the recommendation should that status be
considered final.
The meeting will be free and open to the public. If you require a
translator or interpreter, please notify the individual listed below as
the ``Contact Person for Further Information,'' at least five business
days prior to the meeting.
The CSB is an independent Federal agency charged with investigating
serious accidents that result in the release of extremely hazardous
substances. The agency's Board
[[Page 15932]]
Members are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. CSB
investigations look into all aspects of accidents, including physical
causes such as equipment failure as well as inadequacies in
regulations, industry standards, and safety management systems.
CONTACT PERSON FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Hillary J. Cohen,
Communications Manager, [email protected] or (202) 446-8094.
General information about the CSB can be found on the agency Web site
at: www.csb.gov.
Dated: March 8, 2013.
Daniel M. Horowitz,
Managing Director.
[FR Doc. 2013-05854 Filed 3-11-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6350-01-P