These catastrophes are not a "string of accidents" at industrial work sites, but are the results of the crisis- ridden system of the capitalist bosses, who always put the dollar sign ahead of the lives and safety of working people. The dog-eat-dog competition among the capitalists will intensify as the average rate of industrial profit continues to decline. This is behind the bosses' drive to increase inhuman hours, worsen working conditions, and push to lower our wages and benefits.
Under the pressures of accelerating competition, the Tosco bosses have caused five fatalities at their refinery in a decade, four deaths in the past two years. And the toll from the latest blast may still rise. For the profit barons, workers are simply beasts of burden who can be disposed of like a pair of worn shoes - chewed up, mauled, or incinerated as in the latest industrial explosions - for the sake of a good profit margin.
That's why the question of safety on the job is central to the labor movement. The working class fought bloody labor battles over the last two centuries to insist that human beings not to be treated like commodities. The fight for the unions to become instruments of struggle that defend health and safety on and off the job is a life or death battle to keep the capitalists from tearing us apart.