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Issue link: https://digital.thesafetymag.com/i/358709
December/January 2014 7 National Energy Board releases draft 'safety culture' framework for oil and gas T he National Energy Board (NEB) has released a discussion paper titled Advancing Safety in the Oil and Gas Industry: Draft Safety Culture Framework. The NEB, the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board and the Canada- Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board worked together to propose a common draft safety culture defi nition and framework. This body of work was developed to promote learning and a shared understanding of the emerging discipline of safety culture across the oil and gas sector in Canada. "As federal regulators of the oil and gas industry, we considered it important to have consistent expectations of regulated companies when it came to safety culture," said Gaétan Caron, chair and CEO of the NEB in Calgary. "With strong, well-implemented management systems and a safety culture that permeates every aspect of the organization, the goal of zero incidents can be a reality." The board began exploring how to advance safety culture in the oil and gas industry back in 2011. Since that time, the NEB has consulted extensively with international experts on the topic of safety culture. The board also recently amended its National Energy Board Onshore Pipeline Regulations to include requirements for management system processes designed to support the develop- ment and maintenance of a healthy safety culture for NEB-regulated companies. In addition, the NEB recently released its 2013 Safety Forum Report, in which it outlined the con- crete actions it is committed to take to move forward in achieving the goal of zero incidents. These include: • undertaking a public consultation on safety culture to develop a clear defi nition, attributes and indicators • developing guidance intended to improve the prevention of catastrophic events • improving how Canadians get the regulatory information they want and need • setting a path for continual improvement through collaboration with other reg- ulators, and reporting on safety and enforcement tools the board has recently implemented (such as administrative monetary penalties). The NEB will be seeking comments from the public and industry on this body of work until Jan. 30, 2014. By Amanda Silliker C orporate negligence and regulatory failure were the root causes of the July train derailment and explosion in Lac-Mégantic, Que., according to a study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) in Ottawa. Evidence to date suggests a fl awed regulatory system and cost-cutting corporate behaviour jeopardized public safety and the environment, found the study. The chain of responsibility extends to the highest levels of corporate management and government policy-making. "Barring new evidence, it seems Montreal, Maine and Atlantic, an admittedly poor performer compared to other companies, simply took advan- tage of the freedom granted by the regulatory system," said CCPA executive director Bruce Campbell. The last fi ve years have seen a Wild West boom in the transportation of oil by rail. Close to 275,000 barrels of crude oil per day are now shipped by rail in Canada — up from almost none fi ve years ago. At the same time, Transport Canada's dangerous goods division budget has remained extremely small — $13 million to cover all modes of transportation, said CCPA. "It has only 35 inspectors, the equivalent of just one inspector for every 4,000 tank carloads of crude oil transported in 2013. In 2009, when the oil-by- rail boom started, there was one inspector for every 14 tank carloads," Campbell said. The study also found, despite the dramatic rise in oil shipments, the government cut the rail safety division's budget by 19 per cent from 2010 to 2014. The study points to several other fl aws in the regulatory system, including the following: • The transport minister granted Montreal, Maine and Atlantic an exemption from the required two-person crews — one of only two exemptions granted for a freight railway — despite objections from the union representing workers and a trou- bling safety record. This was possibly due in part to pressure to adopt the lower United States standard, which permits one-person crews. • Until the Lac-Mégantic rail disaster, Transport Canada did not heed repeated Transportation Safety Board warnings regarding unsafe tank cars, vague brake rules and rules allowing trains to be left unlocked and unattended. • Amendments to the Railway Safety Act more than a decade ago surrendered authority to companies to develop their own safety management systems — making their own judgments about the balance between cost considerations and the risks to public safety. Referred to as co-regulation between govern- ment and industry, the CCPA said this, in effect, is self-regulation. In the months leading up to the accident, industry lobbyists advocated against new safety regulations for the transportation of dangerous goods. "It is important to keep the spotlight on the fl awed self-regulation approach that lies at the heart of the regulatory failure responsible for Lac-Mégantic," Campbell said. Minister of Transport Lisa Raitt has been implementing changes to improve rail safety following Lac-Mégantic, including issuing an emergency directive to railway companies requiring: • trains carrying dangerous goods be operated by at least two people • no trains carrying dangerous goods be left unattended on a main track 'safety culture' framework for oil and gas 2013 Safety Forum Report, in which it outlined the con- crete actions it is committed to take to move forward in achieving the goal of zero incidents. These include: • undertaking a public consultation on safety culture to develop a clear defi nition, attributes Corporate negligence, regulatory failure behind Lac-Mégantic rail disaster: Study • locomotive cabs be secured against unauthorized entry • directional controls be removed from unattended trains • special instructions on hand brakes would be applied to locomotives attached to one or more cars and left unattended for more than one hour • automatic brakes would be set to full service posi- tion and the independent brake would be fully applied to locomotives attached to one or more cars and left unattended for less than one hour. The government has also issued a protective direc- tion requiring any person who imports or transports crude oil to conduct classifi cation tests on the oil. And on Nov. 20, Raitt announced railways are now required to provide municipalities informa- tion on the volume and nature of dangerous goods being transported through their jurisdictions. This will help communities conduct risk assessments and emergency response planning, said the government.