Agency Outlines Allegations Against Kaiser

The federal Mining Safety and Health Administration made public its report Monday blaming Kaiser Aluminum for failing to correct the hazardous conditions that caused an explosion at a Louisiana plant.

Excessive pressure in several large tanks caused the blast that injured 29 people and closed Kaiser Aluminum’s refinery in Gramercy, La., in July, according to MSHAs 70-page report.

While the agency last month cited Kaiser for 21 violations of safety laws in the incident, the new report details causes of the explosion, said MSHA spokesman Rodney Brown. “This is a description of what happened from beginning to end,” he said.

The report states that a power failure 30 minutes prior to the July 5 explosion caused the plant’s pumps to stop while gas-fired boilers continued to deliver steam, allowing pressure to build in the tanks. The report claims the company condoned allowing the system to operate even though pressure in the vessels exceeded the operating maximum.

The company also allowed the pressure-relief safety systems to be disabled, the report said. It also failed to ensure that discharge pipes were regularly cleared and inspected, according to MSHA.

“Kaiser’s apparent failure to follow well-known safety rules and practices resulted in serious injuries to workers at the Gramercy Plant,” said Davitt McAteer, head of MSHA. “We are hopeful that these actions will be immediately addressed by Kaiser management so that we may avoid such tragic accidents in the future.”

Kaiser said Monday it “was surprised and disappointed” to see the report because the company was in the process of rebutting the MSHA citations.

Also, the company said MSHA’s safety inspections and training reviews should show that Kaiser’s record was clean. Agents had inspected the plant eight days prior to the explosion.

The Steelworkers’ union, which has been in a labor dispute with Kaiser since September 1998, blames the explosion on the company operating the plant with a poorly trained work force. Since the Steelworkers strike began, Kaiser has operated five of its plants, including two in Spokane, mostly with a temporary work force.

“MSHA’s final report only confirms what we’ve been saying for more than a year,” said Steelworker chief negotiator David Foster. “There is no substitute for a skilled and experienced work force if you want to run an operation both safely and productively.”

The company said it will challenge MSHA’s conclusions and has already filed an appeal with the administrative law judge.