Baytown Briefs (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 17, No. 18, Ed. 1 Friday, August 15, 1969 Page: 1 of 4
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Baytown Brifs
No. 18
Vol. 17
August 15, 1969
3.
☆
☆
ac-
OC-
free.
Graduate Center,” he stated.
Boyd Found Fiery Scene
After Acajutla Bombing
'Could Fight Fires Only In
Daytime Between Air Raids'
pipefitting work had 32 per cent
of the injuries. Rigging and
painting work accounted for 8
per cent each; carpenter, 7;
welding and machinist work, 5
per cent each; while all other
1
types of mechanical work
counted for 13 per cent.
As to how the 410 injuries
A breakdown of Arnold’s study and the remaining 51 per cent in
Before he left El Salvador, Boyd photographed a tank that was still
smouldering, and another which crumpled in the fire.
per cent occurring to Mechanical . , .
personnel shows that employees Locked Gate A Problem
performing boilermaking and
Eyes Easiest To Protect,
Yet Are Injured The Most
in the August 1 issue of Briejs
a story on minor injuries re-
vealed that one in three minor
injuries in the plants occurs to
the eyes, and that in four out of
five of the eye injuries the in-
jured was not wearing eye pro-
tection.
The study, made for the Cen-
tral Safety Committee’s injury
sub-committee by Jim Arnold,
Enjay. Technical, revealed much
more that might be of help in
preventing injuries to the eyes.
shows that no area or occupa-
tion in the plants is immune to
eye injuries; they happen all
over.
Half the 410 injuries to the
eyes in 1968 occurred in seven
different areas, however. Percent-
age-wise, Central Shop had the
most, accounting for 12 per cent.
Pipe Stills were next with 10 per
cent; then POU, 7; boilerhouses,
6; area shops and hydroformers,
5 per cent each; Butyl area, 4;
Jersey 3rd Quarter
Dividends 90 Cents
The board ofdirectorsof Jersey
Standard has declared a cash div-
idend of 90 cents per share on
the capital stock, payable on Sep.
tember 10, 1969, to shareholders
of record at the close of business
on August 12, 1969.
This will bring dividend pay-
ments for the first three quarters
of 1969 to a total of $2.70 per
share, which compares with $2.60
per share for the same period in
1968.
dustries in the area and coordi-
nating donations to the Graduate
Center.
At a recent industry luncheon
at Clear Lake al tended by Re-
finery Technica 1 Manager Jo
Graves, Congressman Bob Casey
paid special tribute to Humble
and Friendswood for the land do-
nation.
“The Center is a significant
factor in the ongoing develop-
ment of I he aerospace, chemical,
and petrochemical industries of
the Clear Lake and Ship Channel
areas,” Congressman Casey said.
“Il is a special pleasure for me
Io salute the University of Hous-
ton for its vision in planning
the Center, and the Humble Oil
& Refining Company and the
numerous locations.
Although no occupation was
immune to eye injuries, four out
of five of the injuries occurred to
Mechanical Department person-
nel, who sustained 78 per cent of
the minor eye injuries in 1968.
Process people had 18 per cent of
the 410 injuries, Technical had
3 per cent, and supervisory per-
sonnel 1 per cent.
Arnold’s breakdown of the 78
29 Days Since Last
OO Disabling Injury
Fighting the Acajutla refinery
fires only in the daytime and
then “between air raids” was
NASA center.
Final planning of the Gradu-
ate Center is now underway, and
construction is expected to begin
in the near future. An educa-
tional investment of $5 million
will be required, and industrial
concerns in the Houston Bay
Area are being asked to provide
$1 million, or one-fifth of the total
amount needed.
When numerous fires were
started al El Salvador’s Acajutla
Refinery as the result of a bomb-
ing raid July 15 by Honduran
planes, Esso Inter-America, Inc.,
needed a top firefighter in a
hurry to direct the refinery’s fire-
fighting efforts.
They had heard of the Bay-
town organizations’ volunteer fire-
fighters, so shortly after the raid
Esso Inter-America headquarters
at Coral Gables, Fla., was on the
line talking to Bay town personnel.
When asked if he would go to
the Central American country,
Fire Chief Jim Boyd said, “Sure,
I’ll go down and do what I can.”
will provide the music. Tickets Friendswood Corporation for hav-
per couple are $1 for members ing provided a most valuable,
and $6 for guests. Set-ups will be cent rally-located site for the
Ecmh Humble Oil & Refining Company
CNe) Baytown Refinery
Humble Club Dance
Set For August 23
The fourth Humble Club dance
of 1969 will be held Saturday,
August 23 from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.
• at Sylvan Beach.
Ed Gerlach and his Orchestra
Humble, Friendswood Donate 131
Acres For UH Graduate Center
Humble and its subsidiary, The school, to accommodate
" Friendswood Development Corpo- 1,500 to 2,000 students, will gear
ration, have donated 131 acres of its curriculum primarily to scien-
land, valued at about $2 million, lific and engineering disciplines,
for the site of a University of Annuitant H. H. Meier, former
Houston Clear Lake Graduate Baytown Refinery manager, is
Center. The site is north of the heavily involved in contacting in-
He started immediately gelling a other from Peru—were available
passport, clothes, and what fire- initially. After three days, the
fighting gear he could take on firefighting force increased to
the plane with him, then left for seven men, then the government
El Salvador early the next morn- sent six volunteer municipal fire-
ing—July 16, his 29th wedding men, bringing the force to thir-
anniversary. teen.
The nearest he could fly to his “The volunteers had never
destination was Guatemala City, fought a refinery fire before, but
since all flights into El Salvador they did a good job,” Boyd com-
had been cancelled because of mented.
the El Salvador-Honduras con- Since three of the burning
diet. After a five-hour automobile tanks contained gasoline, a criti-
trip from Guatemala, he arrived cal gasoline shortage was develop-
at the Acajutla refinery about 5 ing throughout the country, and
p.m. e nes ay. tank trucks waiting to be filled
It looked like the whole re- were slacking up near the refin-
finery, was on fire when I got ery. Government officials were
there, Boyd said. Six tanks worried about the trucks being
were burning, there were fires strafed, and urged Acajutla re-
from broken lines and open con- finery officials to make special
duils, and numerous ground fires efforts to load the trucks and get
about 15 in all. them out faster.
t .. lt i j. The only way, Boyd explained,
1 e e P sirs was to load the trucks with gaso-
"We couldn’t start fighting the line from the burning tanks. It
fires until the next morning be- was cooled by running the gaso-
cause of the government-imposed line through water hose coiled in
blackout at night,” Boyd said. barrels of water. This method
“Also, no help was available since proved too slow, however, so a
the town and the refinery had faster method had to be de-
been evacuated after the air veloped.
raid. Boyd and a refinery official lo-
Firefighting help was hard to cated two six-inch lines running
get. Only Boyd and two other to a buoy a quarter of a mile out
men—one an American and the (Sec BOYD, Page 2)
curred — percentage-wise they something new even to Jim Boyd,
were as follows: windblown ob- who has been referred to as the
jects—17; oil, water, and chemi- “Red Adair of refineries.”
cals in eyes— 15; pipefitting— “We had to be out of the re-
13; inside vessels—12; grinding finery before dark, since govern-
—7; scaffolds, sandblasting, and ment troops — guarding against
welding burns—6 each; machin- sabotage and looting—had orders
ing, impact wrench, and paint- lo shoot on sight,” he said.
ing—4 each; insulating—3; saw- And during the daylime, air
dust 2; and insect, eyelash, etc. raids were always a threat; we
1. had three during the time I was
The “why they occurred” part there,” he staled.
of the survey is the most reveal- “During one of the raids. I got
ing. A total of 84 per cent of the a little concerned about my
minor eye injuries occurred lo safely,” he relates. “In case of a
employees not wearing eye pro- raid, I had been instructed to go
lection. And of the remaining 16 to an air raid shelter by way of a
per cent, most of the injured gate in the fence some 200 yards
were not wearing sufficient eye from where we were fighting
protection. the fires.
Arnold’s study brings out a “When the siren sounded. I
safety truth loud and clear: The headed for the shelter as fast as
eyes — among a person’s most I could run, and found the gate
precious possessions — are the locked. The fence was too high
easiest to protect, yet they are to go over, so I started looking
protected the least. for a hole to go through.
CwIAM* Enjay Chemical Company
E•A) Baytown Plant
“I couldn’t find one, so I
figured that the best thing I
could do was lie on the ground by
the fence and hope I didn’t get
hit.
“When the ‘all-clear’ sounded,
everyone was still in one piece,
so we went back to our fire
lighting.
“I made sure, however, that
the gate to the air raid shelter
was unlocked,” he said.
Eai t8p
wm, -We
——a--aemmased Ki
ecn% Esso Research & Engineering Company
609-) Baytown Research & Development
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Lee, O. B. Baytown Briefs (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 17, No. 18, Ed. 1 Friday, August 15, 1969, newspaper, August 15, 1969; Baytown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1433519/m1/1/: accessed July 12, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Sterling Municipal Library.