Part 2 - OSHA's "model workplace's" come under scrutiny.

Oil refineries are inherently dangerous, and the industry’s record of failing to curb hazards prompted the federal government in 2007 to start subjecting them to more intense scrutiny in a special enforcement program . But Tommy Manis and his wife, Laura, trusted that this refinery was safer. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the nation’s chief overseer of worker safety, had formally certified the Valero refinery as a “model workplace” with an exemplary record and an impeccable safety program exceeding that required by regulators.

It was a “Star” site in the agency’s Voluntary Protection Programs — a distinction that, for Valero, conveyed more than just bragging rights. OSHA exempts members of this club, known as VPP, from some inspections, including the special enforcement program targeting refineries and similar initiatives designed to address hazards in some of the nation’s most dangerous industries.

A similar story line has played out elsewhere: Recognition of “model workplace” status, missed opportunities to detect and fix hazards, a serious mishap or fatal accident, detection of safety violations and, ultimately, continuation of the government’s stamp of approval.

The patchwork regulatory system in which OSHA officials can conduct routine inspections and find violations at some workplaces while others are off-limits exists even within companies; oil giants such as ExxonMobil, ConocoPhilips and Valero own both VPP and non-VPP refineries, so some of their plants are shielded from special inspections while others aren’t.

At refineries that inspectors can visit as part of the special enforcement initiative, they frequently have found serious safety violations.

Some refineries are in one of the 25 states that run their own workplace safety agencies, which the federal government requires to be at least as effective as OSHA. All the state agencies have a version of VPP. Many of these states have adopted the special enforcement program, though data on those inspections are harder to track.


Link:
http://www.iwatchnews.org/2011/07/11/5170/model-workplaces-avoid-special-government-scrutiny-targeting-hazardous-industries