Seventh Worker Dies from Refinery Blast

by James Parks, Apr 26, 2010

A seventh United Steelworkers (USW) member has died after an April 2 explosion at a Tesoro refinery in Anacortes, Wash.

Matt Gumbel, 34, died Saturday after fighting for his life for three weeks. The other USW members killed in the blast were Lew Janz, 41; Matthew C. Bowen, 31; Darrin J. Hoines, 43; Daniel J. Aldridge, 50; Kathryn Powell, 29; and Donna Van Dreumel, 36.

Gumbel’s death, and that of another miner killed on Friday, comes just days before we commemorate Workers Memorial Day, which honors workers killed or injured on the job and also highlights the need for tough and effective workplace safety laws.

In a statement yesterday, U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said:

[E]ach day in this country, 14 workers lose their lives on the job. That is 14 workers too many. Later this week, we will mark Workers’ Memorial Day. Let us take the time to reflect on and honor the love and contributions of those we’ve lost and to re-focus our efforts on not only providing secure and rewarding jobs for every American worker, but safe ones as well.

According to the USW, Tesoro has a history of serious health and safety violations. The Associated Press reports that Washington State Department of Labor and Industries fined the company $85,700 last April for 17 serious safety and health violations, defined as those with potential to cause death or serious physical injury. Also, inspectors found 150 instances of deficiencies and said the company did not ensure safe work practices and failed to update safety information when changes were made to equipment. The fine was lowered in a settlement with the company, which required Tesoro to correct hazards and hire a third-party consultant to do a safety audit.

USW President Leo Gerard is calling for stronger new workplace safety laws in light of explosions at the Tesoro refinery and the Massey Energy Co.’s Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia, where 29 coal miners were killed in an April 5 explosion. Both facilities had long and troubling records of safety violations.

Meanwhile, rescuers have called off the search for 11 missing oil rig workers following the April 21 explosion on an oil drilling rig some 50 miles off the Louisiana coast in the Gulf of Mexico.

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