Witness tells committee prolonged "turnaround" schedules at Phillips 66 create safety risks for workers and communities

A witness told the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee that recent refinery closure announcements at Phillips 66 sites left reduced crews working extended maintenance "turnaround" schedules and that the staffing pattern poses safety risks for workers and the surrounding community.

"We have a special schedule called a turnaround schedule ... that schedule calls out for 13 days on, 1 day off ..." the witness said, explaining that when a closure announcement is made workers who remain can be kept on that rotation for "5, 6, 7 months in a row." The witness said the sustained schedules reduce alertness and cited National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health material, saying: "Being up for 17 hours equates to 1.05 blood alcohol limit." The witness characterized the staffing pattern as "not safe for the workers [and] it's not safe for the community" and asked the committee to support creating a task force to maintain staffing until a facility is safely closed.

Assemblymember Marisucci, in closing remarks, tied the witness account to broader safety concerns at refineries and cited previous dangerous incidents in the state as reasons to consider measures that would address staffing and closure protocols. The committee did not receive additional registered witnesses in opposition or further detailed data during the hearing.