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15 NACE INTERNATIONAL: VOL. 56, NO. 10 MATERIALS PERFORMANCE OCTOBER 2017 Investigators were deployed to the site to better understand the fire's causes. Many findings were used as the basis for the state's new regulations. Photo courtesy of U.S. Chemical Safety Board. Continued on page 16 performing a process hazard analysis on that same unit. Other requirements of the order include conducting a "hierarchy of hazard controls analysis" to encourage ref inery management to implement more effective safety measures; implementing a "human factors program" to consider staff ing lev- els, training and competency, fatigue, and the human-machine interface; and devel- oping written procedures for the "man- agement of organizational change" to ensure plant safety remains constant during personnel changes. Finally, the order also stipulates that employers implement an effective "process safety culture assessment" program to under- stand values related to safety held by employees and to evaluate responses to hazard reports. "This is the most protective regula- tion in the nation for the safety and health of ref inery workers and surrounding com- munities," says Christine Baker, director of California's Department of Industrial Relations (DIR). "This new regulation will ensure California's oil ref ineries are oper- ated with the highest levels of safety pos- sible and with injury and illness preven- tion in mind." The DIR says most ref ineries in Cali- fornia have adopted at least some of the aforementioned practices over the past decade, bringing "signif icant improve- ment" in safety performance. However, the industry still experiences major inci- dents that pose a risk to workers and nearby communities, and cause disrup- tion to fuel services, according to the agency. As a result, this regulation repre- sents a comprehensive safety perfor- mance standard for the state's ref inery sector. The standard was put into motion fol- lowing the August 2012 incident at the Richmond ref inery, when the state's gov- ernor called for the establishment of an Interagency Ref inery Task Force. The Cal- ifornia Environmental Protection Agency (Sacramento, California) formed the task force in August 2013 that included the DIR, eight other state agencies, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Wash- ington, DC), as well as local and regional state agencies with ref ineries in their jurisdiction. Information on corrosion control and prevention