TESORO WEST COAST CO DBA SHELL ANACORTES REFINING

According to U.S. Department of Labor enforcement records, TESORO WEST COAST CO DBA SHELL ANACORTES REFINING — a industry sector 00 facility located at WEST MARCH POINT RD, ANACORTES, WA 98221 — was the subject of a formal OSHA inspection that resulted in 21 citation(s) and cumulative proposed penalties of $18,700.00. The inspection case was opened on 2001-02-12.

The volume of citations issued during this inspection suggests systematic compliance deficiencies rather than isolated incidents. Facilities with 10 or more citations typically face comprehensive abatement requirements and may be subject to follow-up inspections.

State Context: Within WA, this facility's penalty places it at the 99th percentile among 126,183 inspected facilities. The statewide average penalty is $1,683.96.

Citation Analysis: The inspection produced 21 citations spanning 14 distinct OSHA regulatory standards. The citation breakdown includes: 5 other-than-serious — The violation has a direct relationship to job safety and health but is unlikely to cause death or serious physical harm. 10 serious — A workplace hazard that could cause death or serious physical harm exists, and the employer knew or should have known about the condition.

Enforcement Timeline: Citations were issued beginning March 12, 2001 with the latest abatement deadline set for September 17, 2001. Of the 21 total citations, 4 (19%) have been marked as abated in DOL records, which may indicate ongoing compliance gaps requiring further regulatory attention.

Penalty Assessment: The cumulative penalty of $18,700.00 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 $890.48 falls within the standard penalty range.

The inspection of the Anacortes refinery revealed a profound systemic breakdown of the Process Safety Management (PSM) framework, evidenced by the breadth of serious violations across multiple critical safety pillars. The citations—ranging from Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) and Mechanical Integrity to Management of Change (MOC) and Pre-startup Safety Reviews (PSSR)—indicated that the facility was operating with significant gaps in its ability to identify, evaluate, and control highly hazardous chemicals.