Equistar Pipeline Achieves Two Safety Milestones

PASADENA, March 9, 2011 – Employees of Equistar’s pipeline operations have surpassed 31 years without a lost-time injury.  Additionally, pipeline employees and contractors recently completed more than one year of working safely without an OSHA recordable injury.

Both safety milestones were achieved in February.  Equistar Chemicals, LP, is a wholly owned subsidiary of LyondellBasell.

A lost-time injury is one serious enough to require a worker to miss work.  An OSHA-recordable injury is one which requires medical treatment other than of a minor first-aid nature.

“To see employees and contractors pull together and focus on the goal of no injuries makes me very proud of the pipeline group,” said Site Manager Courtney Ruth. “We currently are nearing 400 days since our last injury and through focus, attention to detail, working with our contractors and refusing to be complacent, the team has achieved the one-year and 31-year milestones.”

Pipeline operations present unique challenges but the workers were committed to identifying and mitigating workplace hazards and to looking out for the well-being of their co-workers in order to achieve “Goal Zero,” said Matt Cesarz, pipeline manager of health, safety, environment and technical. Goal Zero is a LyondellBasell expectation that all employees and contractors have zero injuries, zero incidents, zero non-compliance with government regulations, zero product defects and zero mistakes. 

Equistar operates and maintains approximately 1,200 miles of pipeline in Texas and Louisiana and two storage facilities in Texas. It has more than 100 employees and contractors. The pipelines move products such as ethylene and propylene, and feedstocks such as condensates, diesels, natural gasolines and butane for LyondellBasell and other companies.

Media Contact:  Gayden Cooper, office 713-209-1341; cell 713-822-3724; pager 888-477-0098