Wow.
This story is fucking horrifying! "Eventually, firefighters found a worker, Gioia said, but the worker was unable to inform firefighters about what type of material was stored inside the tanks. One had exploded, and it and another were burning."
"Gioia said the cascade of gaffes have left him troubled.
“What exactly was the training of these workers?” he asked. “It caused a delay. I don’t think a long delay, but clearly seconds count.”"
“What exactly was the training of these workers?” he asked. “It caused a delay. I don’t think a long delay, but clearly seconds count.”"
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“The night of the fire the company lawyered up,” Gioia said. “When they start lawyering up and they stop answering questions the night of the fire, you’ve got to get search warrants.”
“The night of the fire the company lawyered up,” Gioia said. “When they start lawyering up and they stop answering questions the night of the fire, you’ve got to get search warrants.”
Gioia wasn’t sure exactly how firefighters eventually gained access to the NuStar property, but the plant was abandoned at that point. All but one employee bolted off the property, while the last employee ran the other direction toward Interstate 80.
The supervisor said he was told that about five workers staff each shift and none hit the switch to activate the manual fire suppression system.
“I’m told they were pretty close to it on the way out and just passed it,” Gioia said.
“I’m told they were pretty close to it on the way out and just passed it,” Gioia said.
Once firefighters made contact with the workers, the trouble continued.
“The fire chief was clear that one of the fire personnel asked what was in the tanks and that (worker) didn’t know,” Gioia said.
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“The fire chief was clear that one of the fire personnel asked what was in the tanks and that (worker) didn’t know,” Gioia said.
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u n i o n i z e
"Shore Terminals LLC, the subsidiary of NuStar that runs the facility in Crockett, had five violations recorded by the Environmental Protection Agency from 2015 to 2017. One was related to hazardous waste requirements for large generators.
"Shore Terminals LLC and the Crockett location were also involved in a federal criminal case in 2009 for emitting large amounts of volatile compounds into the air without a vapor recovery unit for at least a year, according to the EPA.
"The company pleaded guilty to making false statements and was sentenced to pay a $1.75 million criminal fine, serve two years of probation and create an environmental compliance plan, according to the EPA."
