The efforts of Don Holmstrom, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board Supervisory Investigator into the 2005 explosion at the BP refinery in Texas City, Texas, that killed 15 employees of site contractors Fluor Corp. and Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. has led to recommended practice changes from the board that will improve safety for all U.S. oil companies and their contractors.

William Philpott/AFP/Getty Explosion at plant killed 15 employees of site contractors.

Holstrom's investigation of the causes of the BP accident, which also injured 180 people, revealed over pressurization of a distillation tower and blowdown drum that vented highly flammable liquid and vapor onto the site, among other safety deficiencies, despite company efforts to improve site conditions at the time. As a result, the board has recommended changes in refinery pressure relief systems and stronger efforts by the American Petroleum Institute and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to encourage and insure industry compliance.