BP to pay $69,200 safety fine for U.S. refinery (violations are commonly found across the industry)

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bp-to-pay-69200-safety-fine-for-us-refinery-2010-05-29

By Naureen S. Malik

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- BP PLC /quotes/comstock/13*!bp/quotes/nls/bp (BP 42.95, -2.43, -5.35%) agreed to pay a $69,200 fine for safety violations found at its Cherry Point refinery in Washington, the state's labor department said Friday.

The 225,000-barrel-a-day plant located near Blaine, Wash., received citations on May 5 for 13 serious safety violations for insufficient process-safety management issues following state inspections. BP also had the option to appeal the citations or request a meeting to discuss them.

Such safety violations are commonly found across the U.S. refining industry, which is the most frequent source of accidents or explosions related to chemical hazards.

"While it is good that BP has decided to correct the hazards without an appeal, we are disturbed that more than 10 years after the explosion that killed six workers at the Equilon refinery, our inspectors are still finding significant safety violations every time we inspect one of the refineries in the state of Washington," said Michael Silverstein, assistant director for the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries' Division of Occupational Safety and Health.

FULL story at link.