The Department of Industrial Relations, the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, and the California Environmental Protection Agency announced new rules to strengthen safety at oil refineries statewide in July. Comments are due by September 15th and the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board has scheduled a public hearing for that date in Sacramento, to discuss the refinery safety regulations proposed in July.
The two proposed regulations are intended to strengthen workplace and environmental safety at oil refineries across the state. The proposed regulations will put into place new strategies to prevent major incidents at refineries and to protect refinery workers and surrounding communities from exposure to health and safety risks.
One regulation will overhaul The Division of Occupational Safety and Health worker safety regulations for refineries; the other will strengthen the California Accidental Release Prevention program regulations designed to prevent the accidental release of hazardous substances that could harm public health and the environment.