The federal government with its own battle, after a fire in California Chevron refinery, sending 15,000 people with respiratory diseases hospital.
In one corner, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, conducted 119 interviews, and strive to find out the cause of the accident last year, and how to prevent it from happening again. In other Environmental Protection Agency, which is a criminal investigation and hope the interview, to help it determine who is responsible.
7 month old files dispute has become so controversial, led by the National Transportation Safety Board Rafael MOURE Eraso, the court trying to overturn a grand jury subpoena issued to the EPA on behalf of federal prosecutors, according to the obtained correspondence America Associated Press. Efforts have so far failed to reach a compromise.
Board and the EPA describes the struggle between two important public priorities - promoting security and punish offenders - how could at odds with each other. Although bureaucratic turf is a way of life in the government such differences, which is unusual cause summons struggle.
Chemical board does not conduct criminal investigations, but to rely on the cooperation of workers to fulfill its mission to identify the cause of the accident, the recommended way to avoid them. In contrast, the EPA has 200 agents, their job is to prosecute criminal acts, threatening people's health and the environment a department.
Board "has been working diligently to seek alternatives to the Justice Department released Chevron accident witness statements," MOURE Eraso said in a statement. "Request CSB these interviews and notes, they will be used for drafting criminal charges, and for prosecution purposes, to our work may have a devastating effect."
August 6, 2012, Chevron Richmond refinery accident 17 km northeast of San Francisco sent clouds of gas and black smoke billowing in the neighborhood. Weeks later, about 15,000 people were taken to hospital respiratory problems. Chevron to pay $ 10 million to solve 24,000 residents claim to compensate for local hospitals and local government agencies.
According to a person familiar with the probe, the EPA is trying to determine to what extent the Chevron managers realized that serious, widespread corrosion problems in refineries and whether managers choose not to replace aging pipes. People, who spoke on condition of anonymity, was not authorized to comment publicly on the matter.
Pipeline corrosion is a problem, because the sulfur crude oil at the refinery steel reaction, a process called vulcanization. 52-inch pipeline ruptured part in the Chevron refinery has lost much of its original thickness at its 1976 installation of 36 to 90% since the interim report of the chemical board in April ended. The report said the average wall rupture near thinner than a dime.
According to the report, nearly three years before the accident in Richmond, Chevron metallurgist recommended that the Executive "100% high temperature carbon steel pipe components susceptible to corrosion inspection." In corporate communications, one year after the repeated suggestion, but it is in non-compliance with the factory, chemical board's report said.
Battle of the summons in closed proceedings have been processed in San Francisco, U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer's brother in court.
If the chemical board to surrender records EPA witnesses coming before the Board will invoke their constitutional right to remain silent, MOURE Eraso in the February 22 letter to the judge said. There is a real fear, he wrote, chemical board investigation testimony to seek enforcement officials and could be used against them on the basis of criminal charges.
Eraso MOURE he said in his speech at the recent full-day conference in San Francisco, the Board and the Justice Department to study how to share substantive information transcripts, without compromising documents or identity of the witness.
EPA spokesman Eliza Johnson said, "We are determined to move forward in the direction, respecting both the organization's mission and responsibilities." She pointed out that on August 1st Security Presidential chemical industry, stressing the need for information among the board sharing and other federal agencies, including the EPA.
Chevron spokesperson Melissa Ritchie said the company "has been and will continue to cooperate with the government investigation."
EPA's letter in February, MOURE Eraso Chemical Safety Board says that the fighting of the previous efforts to get records. In one instance, he writes, federal prosecutors in the probe fires, the Midwest utility Xcel Energy Chemical board interview. Eraso MOURE said EPA criminal investigation, trying to get the Tesoro refinery in Washington state and the April 2011 explosion in Honolulu in April 2010 explosion of the chemical board interview witnesses. MOURE Eraso accused caused the key witnesses in criminal investigation refused to cooperate with the 2009 explosion of the chemical probe gas terminal board in Puerto Rico.
Congress established the Chemical Safety Board along the National Transportation Safety Board, which looks for the airlines and other transportation accidents.
 



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