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Mitigating the Incidence and Severity of Injuries and Other Harms

Scalia v. Wynnewood Refining Co., LLC

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Overview

Scalia v. Wynnewood Refining Co., LLC (U.S. Court of Appeals, 10th Circuit, October 27, 2020): A boiler at a refinery was held to be part of a “process” to which highly hazardous chemical process safety management regulations applied. After a boiler explosion caused the death of 2 workers, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited the owner of Wynnewood Refining Company for violating 29 C.F.R. § 1910.119, which outlines certain requirements for managing highly hazardous chemicals. The refinery’s owner argued that the section did not apply to the boiler that exploded because it was not a “process” involving a threshold amount of highly hazardous chemicals. OSHA determined that a boiler can be a “process” even if it does not contain highly hazardous chemicals because the boiler is interconnected with 2 units deemed “processes” under the section and the boiler’s location made it possible that a highly hazardous chemical could be released. Read the decision here.  

View all cases in the Judicial Trends in Public Health – January 15, 2021.

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