4 killed in Houston crane collapse
HOUSTON (AP) - July 18, 2008 The 30-story-tall crane, capable of lifting 1 million pounds,
fell over at a LyondellBasell refinery in southeast Houston about 2
p.m., said Jim Roecker, the company's vice president for refining.
The massive, deep red crane lay on top of a smaller, bright
yellow crane on the grounds of the refinery. Ambulances and fire
trucks were lined up outside.
The casualties were in the area of the crane, but officials
still aren't certain whether they were on the crane or under it,
Roecker said.
Three of the injured were treated and released at the scene,
said Houston Fire Department Assistant Chief Omero Longoria. Two
severely injured workers were taken by helicopter to Memorial
Hermann-Texas Medical Center hospital and the other two injured
workers was taken to a hospital by ambulance.
The crane belonged to Deep South Crane & Rigging. Roecker
described it as one of the nation's largest mobile cranes, at 300
feet tall with a 400-foot boom. Construction cranes run taller, but
they are not mobile.
The crane had not been scheduled to do any work until next week,
but Roecker said its engine was idling after it hit the ground.
"This is a traumatic experience for all of us. We have to focus
on the safety and health of our employees," Roecker said.
Deep South spokeswoman Margaret Landry issued a statement from
the company's headquarters in Baton Rouge, La., saying it was
investigating "to determine the root cause, correct it and ensure
that this type of tragedy does not occur again."
Aerial views of the site weren't immediately available; air
space around Houston was restricted because President Bush was in
town raising funds for a congressional candidate.
Near the scene of the collapse, Mattie Graham stood with her
husband, Deep South worker Horace Graham.
"I'm thinking about their families. He could have been there
today," she said, gesturing to her husband.
The refinery has about 3,000 LyondellBasell workers and 1,500
contract workers, Roecker said. He said all personnel at the plant
were accounted for, and the plant was operating as usual.
Crane safety has been getting extra scrutiny in recent months
because of an alarming number of crane-related deaths in places
such as New York, Miami and Las Vegas.
In New York City, two crane accidents since March have killed
nine people - a greater number than the total deaths from cranes
over the previous decade.
An Associated Press analysis in June found that cities and
states have wildly varying rules governing construction cranes, and
some have no regulations at all, choosing instead to rely on
federal guidelines dating back nearly 40 years that some experts
say haven't kept up with technological advances.
Texas led the nation with 26 crane-related fatalities in 2005
and 2006, according to federal statistics. Cranes in Texas operate
without any state or local oversight, leaving that job to federal
regulators.
The crane at the refinery had been delivered in pieces and
assembled on site within the last month. It was brought in to
remove the roof of the coker unit so large drums could be removed
from inside, Roecker said. Cokers convert crude oil to petroleum
products.
East Texas Crane Academy president Joe Bob Williams, whose
company has certified crane operators for Lyondell, said it's
unusual for such cranes to fail because of the number of people
involved in their maintenance.
"It's really odd for these cranes to have any issues because
there are so many eyes looking in," Williams said.
Cameras are mounted around the plant and Roecker said the
company hopes that video from those cameras will help it figure out
what happened.
"As far as what happened today, we'll get there. Right now our
focus is on the families and victims," Roecker said.
The Houston refinery is one of the world's largest for
processing high-sulfur crude oil. The facility itself covers about
700 acres along the Houston Ship Channel at the city limits of
Houston and Pasadena.
Texas is one of 35 states that do not require crane operators to
be licensed. Earlier this year in Dallas, city officials found that
eight of 23 cranes being used across the city had uncertified
operators at the controls.
OSHA standards require cranes to undergo annual inspections, but
it is a self-policing mandate for crane owners. Federal law
requires that inspection records be kept, but not submitted.
Roecker said OSHA and other regulatory agencies had been
notified of Friday's accident.
Lyondell Chemical, a U.S. company, and the Dutch firm Basell
were rivals until they announced a $12.1 billion deal last July to
create one of the world's largest chemical companies.
On the chemical side, Lyondell produces ethylene, a crucial
precursor to a range of other chemicals, as well as propylene
oxide, which is also used in producing a variety of chemical
products. Basell focuses on polyolefins, common types of plastic.
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Associated Press writers Ana Ley and John Porretto and
photographer David Phillip in Houston, Paul J. Weber in Dallas and
researcher Judith Auesebel in New York contributed to this report.