Kinder Morgan- Issues with Workers Safety (Part Two)

REX had a joint venture with, “Kinder Morgan (50 percent ownership), Sempra Pipelines & Storage (25 percent) and Phillips 66 (25 percent)”[1]. There were many accidents with REX. In, “Nov 11,2006, in “Cheyenne”[2], there was a “blade [that] struck an existing pipeline causing a rupture and explosion”[3]. Kinder Morgan did not ensure safety for those workers and during that crash there was no “yellow warning flags”[4] that could have been an indication for the employees. The sad part is that one of those workers in the first incident died in another “construction of REX West”[5].

Again, there are many problems to this story. One of them is that Kinder Morgan has not been able to adapt and learn from their mistakes throughout the countless incidents that they have initiated. Kinder Morgan has never changed their habits, and they have been told on countless times to use safety precautions. Nevertheless, Kinder Morgan still makes those same problems, and everyday citizens have to pay for the cleanup of oil spills, ruptured pipes, and explosions.

The second problem, which ties into the first problem, is workers safety. Kinder Morgan is not looking out for the best interest of their employees. Employees, who work for Kinder Morgan, have died or have been severely injured because of Kinder Morgan’s safety issues. BC residents should not look the revenue that BC can make, but look at the problems of having a pipeline in BC. 

Can we really afford an oil spill that will cost this province millions of dollars? Can we deal with BC residents, who work for Kinder Morgan, dying or getting severely injured from these pipelines? Those are the questions that we should all be asking.

[1] North American Oil&Gas Pipelines, “Rockies Express Pipeline Gets A Second Chance”, Feb 25,2014 Web. 22 Aug 2014.
[2] Tar Sands Free BC, “Fatal Explosion puts Kinder Morgan’s Past in Spotlight”, Sept 15th,2008 Web. 22 Aug 2014.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.

Written by: Inderpal Brar