Feds add DuPont to severe violator program

DuPont has been labeled a “severe” violator of federal workplace safety standards following a second inspection of the La Porte, Texas, plant where four employees were killed in a massive gas leak last year.

The decision by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration means the facility southeast of Houston will receive additional scrutiny from inspectors. About 300 employees work there making pesticides and other chemicals.

In November, one worker was overwhelmed by methyl mercaptan, a toxic gas used to make jet fuel and insecticides, and later died. The gas was unexpectedly released when a drain was opened on a vent line, according to OSHA. Three coworkers who attempted a rescue died before the leak was brought under control two hours later.

OSHA in May cited the company for 11 violations at the factory, including not training workers to use the building’s ventilation system, and issued $99,000 in a fines. OSHA also cited DuPont for “similar process safety management violations” at its Darrow, Louisiana, and Deepwater, New Jersey, facilities.

Following a second inspection, OSHA found eight violations at the Texas plant and fined the company $273,000, citing an “indifference" to creating a safe workplace. The company didn’t properly inspect equipment, implement operating procedures or an have equipment safety plan, according to OSHA documents.

Regulators placed the company in the "severe violator enforcement program,” which includes follow-up inspections to make sure the plant is in compliance with the law.

Dan Turner, a DuPont spokesman, said the company was “disappointed” in OSHA’s classification.

“We have not had a chance to review OSHA’s findings in detail,” he said. “We will work with the agency to better understand the citations and any further required abatement. Operating the La Porte site safely is our number one priority. We have and will continue to take the necessary steps to ensure all units are safe to operate.”

DuPont has 15 business days from the receipt of the citation to fix the issues, request an informal conference with OSHA’s Houston South area director or contest the findings before an independent commission.

“DuPont promotes itself as having a ‘world-class safety’ culture and even markets its safety expertise to other employers, but these four preventable workplace deaths and the very serious hazards we uncovered at this facility are evidence of a failed safety program,” Dr. David Michaels, an OSHA assistant director, said in a statement.

Kate Bailey, a spokeswoman for DuPont’s safety consulting unit, disagreed with Michaels’ characterization of the company’s track record.

“Many of our clients have achieved significant reductions in their safety incident and injury rates as a result of our safety consulting services and this backed up by solid supporting data,” she said in an email.

DuPont is the largest company among the hundreds included on the list. Thomas P. Fuller, who teaches at Illinois State University about workplace safety, said the listing is less about the fine and more about the negative publicity. The company has a market value of $66 billion.

“These fines are just a drop in the bucket to big companies,” Fuller said. “A good company has a great safety program because they see the benefit of having strong public relations. OSHA is really little more than a paper tiger.”

Once a company is added to the severe violator list, it cannot be removed until three years after a case is resolved. A case can be resolved if a company does not contest the claims, reaches a settlement agreement or if a review commission or court sides with the employer. If a company opts not to contest the citation, it must pay all penalties, abide by all agreement provisions and not receive any additional serious citations at any plant throughout the country.

Contact Jeff Mordock at (302) 324-2786, on Twitter @JeffMordockTNJ or jmordock@delawareonline.com.