Sinclair Oil is being fined $260,000 for safety violations at its refinery near Rawlins. These are on top of violations the company received last year, when repeated explosions and fires injured several plant workers.
The Wyoming Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, inspected the refinery after receiving a complaint about a diesel leak. OSHA’s John Ysebaert says they found that the company wasn’t adequately training its workers, and wasn’t properly labeling chemicals, among other violations.
Some of the violations were repeat offenses, but Ysebaert says Sinclair has taken steps since last fall to fix the problems.
“They have secured an outside consultant to standardize their procedures and their training,” Ysebaert said. “They are working with the Community College Commission on putting in place a standardized operator training program. … I would say we really do have their attention on those issues.”
Ysebaert says improving worker training is critical, since the plant has seen a 50-percent turn-over in employees recently, so many workers are new.
