FRONTIER EL DORADO REFINING

According to U.S. Department of Labor enforcement records, FRONTIER EL DORADO REFINING — a petroleum refineries facility located at 1401 S. DOUGLAS, EL DORADO, KS 67042 — was the subject of a formal OSHA inspection that resulted in 34 citation(s) and cumulative proposed penalties of $221,700.00. The inspection case was opened on 2006-05-15.

Cumulative penalties significantly exceed the national median for OSHA enforcement actions. The penalty amount suggests multiple high-gravity citations, indicating conditions that presented a substantial probability of death or serious physical harm to employees.

BLS Injury Data: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2022), this industry sector has an occupational injury rate of 3.3 per 100 full-time workers — 22% above the national average of 2.7. The sector fatality rate is 2.3 per 100,000 workers.

Industry Benchmark: The total penalty of $221,700.00 is more than 26.3× the national average of $8,414.32 for facilities in the Manufacturing sector (NAICS 324110). This sector encompasses 52,095 inspected facilities nationwide with aggregate penalties totaling $438.3M.

State Context: Within KS, this facility's penalty places it at the 100th percentile among 19,826 inspected facilities. The statewide average penalty is $3,225.89.

Citation Analysis: The inspection produced 34 citations spanning 1 distinct OSHA regulatory standards. The citation breakdown includes: 9 serious — A workplace hazard that could cause death or serious physical harm exists, and the employer knew or should have known about the condition. 6 other-than-serious — The violation has a direct relationship to job safety and health but is unlikely to cause death or serious physical harm.

Enforcement Timeline: Citations were issued beginning December 18, 2007 with the latest abatement deadline set for June 30, 2009. Of the 34 total citations, 13 (38%) have been marked as abated in DOL records, which may indicate ongoing compliance gaps requiring further regulatory attention.

Penalty Assessment: The cumulative penalty of $221,700.00 reflects OSHA's gravity-based penalty calculation methodology, which considers the severity of potential injury, the probability of occurrence, the employer's size, good faith, and violation history. The per-citation average of $6,520.59 falls within the standard penalty range.

The 2006 enforcement action against Frontier El Dorado Refining revealed a profound and systemic breakdown of the Process Safety Management (PSM) framework, as evidenced by the $221,700 penalty—a substantial figure for the era that reflects the high-gravity nature of the hazards. The citations centered heavily on 29 CFR 1910.119, specifically targeting deficiencies in Process Safety Information (PSI), Process Hazard Analysis