Chemical Safety Board Declares Florida’s Response to Public Worker Deaths “Unacceptable”

Calling this declaration “a last-resort attempt by [CSB] to bring attention to the fact that public worker safety is an important issue,” CSB Chairman Rafael Moure-Eraso called on the state of Florida to reconsider legislation that would provide adequate workplace protection for public employees. Such legislation was floated by a taskforce of shareholders – including safety professionals, union representatives and trade groups – in 2009 and 2010, but died in committee.

The recommendation to provide public workers with a level of protection equivalent to that found for workers in private industry originally was issued by CSB in 2007, following an extensive investigation into a Jan. 11, 2006, methanol fire and explosion at the Bethune Wastewater Treatment plant in Daytona Beach that killed two public employees and seriously injured a third.

Sparks from a welding torch used by Daytona Beach city workers above a tank of methanol ignited vapors that exploded. CSB found that if the city had implemented hot work and hazardous communication (hazcom) programs conforming to existing OSHA regulations that govern hot work in general industry, “the hazards of using a torch in proximity to the methanol tank would likely have been identified and possibly prevented.”

OSHA’s hot work standard “has withstood the test of time,” Moure-Eraso told EHS Today in an exclusive interview, noting that if the Florida workers had been following it and conducted the required air monitoring, “the explosion wouldn’t have happened” because they would have known not to light a welding torch in a potentially explosive environment.

In a letter to Florida Gov. Rick Scott, Moure-Eraso noted, “Since no bill to secure health and safety protections for Florida’s public employees was introduced during the 2011 legislative sessions, the board has concluded that neither you nor the state legislature intend to take action to implement the CSB’s recommendations.” Further, Moure-Eraso maintained that the implementation of the CSB recommendations “is necessary to secure the health and safety of Florida's public employees.”

CSB found that currently 27 states and jurisdictions operate safety and health programs for their public employees, but that Florida suspended its program in 2000. “There can be little doubt that these basic workplace standards help prevent accidents and save lives in those states,” said Moure-Eraso.

CSB’s Bethune investigation found that in addition to the accident that occurred at the wastewater treatment plant in Daytona Beach, 33 other chemical-related incidents had occurred in Florida from 2003 to 2007. These incidents all involved chemicals that are covered by the federal OSHA hazard communication regulations.

Florida’s lack of response is unusual, said Moure-Eraso, who pointed to Connecticut’s quick legislative response to recommendations made by CSB following a natural gas explosion at a Kleen Energy facility on Feb. 7, 2010 that killed six workers and injured 50 others. CSB’s investigation found that on the day of the accident, contract workers were conducting a gas blow – the practice of cleaning fuel gas piping by forcing large amounts of flammable gas through the pipes. Natural gas was forced out of vents located near ground level, adjacent to the power generation building. The accumulated gas ignited, triggering a massive explosion. CSB called for a nationwide ban on gas blows.

Following the publication of CSB’s report, the governor of Connecticut quickly moved to sign an executive order banning gas blows, pending the passage of legislation to enact a permanent statewide ban on them. The Connecticut legislature recently voted to approve a ban.