A unit of London-headquartered oil giant BP Plc (LSE: BP, NYSE: BP) has agreed to pay million for pollution violations. The violations related to fires and leak at the BP Merchandise North America refinery in March 2004, July 2005, and August 2005 respectively.
The fires and leak caused thousands of pounds of flammable and toxic air pollutants which forced inhabitants who lived in the surrounding city to take refuge indoors. Nevertheless, the oil giant reported no injuries or impact on wellness outside of the refinery. 15 workers were killed and 180 others injured at the Texas City refinery incident.
As a result, BP pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the Clean Air Act and was put on probation in 2009 and got million-fine.
In October 2009, the firm was fined further million for not to successfully right safety hazards disclosed in the 2005 explosion.
BP also suffered from Texas City chemical leak with 17,000 pounds of benzene, 186,000 pounds of carbon monoxide, and 37,000 pounds of nitrogen oxides in 2010. The accident happened two weeks prior to the Deepwater Horizon explosion. Much more than 530,000 lbs of chemicals into the air of Texas City and surrounding areas had been released due to malfunctioning equipment.
According to assistant administrator Cynthia Giles, BP’s employees and people in the communities near the Texas City refinery have been terribly affected by its actions.
Besides the Texas City refinery incidents, BP has been under intense scrutiny for oil spill from 1 of its wells in the Gulf of Mexico.
The explosion on its offshore drilling rig resulted in the death of eleven people.
Under the Clean Water Act, BP could be penalized up to ,300 for each and every barrel of leaked oil. The U.S. Interior Department unveiled Thursday new offshore drilling rules. One day just before, Bob Dudley, incoming BP CEO, also introduced changes designed to enhance safety.
BP Plc is the world’s fourth largest oil and gas firm by revenues. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. It is also a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.