Houston

Report: Safety lacking at Texas oil refinery

A fatal accident that happened last fall at the same Texas refinery rocked by a deadly explosion this past week was caused in part by inadequate safety procedures and lack of training, according to an internal report.

The company that runs the refinery is adopting reforms to prevent a reoccurrence of the September accident in which two workers were fatally burned by a spray of 500-degree water and steam, BP spokeswoman Marti Gazzier said Saturday.

BP PLC produced the confidential report into the September accident during a court hearing Wednesday, the same day the nation’s deadliest petrochemical accident since 1990 killed 15 people and injured more than 100 others at the Texas City refinery.

Officials said it could take months to find the cause of the explosion at the 1,200-acre plant near Houston. About 70 workers and 30 residents of the area were injured, and five people remained in critical condition Saturday.

Florida

Prostate cancer testing remains controversial

It’s the most common major cancer in America, even though it affects only one sex. Lifetime odds of getting it are 1 in 6. Testing for it is controversial, and treating it robs many of a body part that’s important to their sexuality.

This isn’t breast cancer, a disease tattooed into the American psyche. It is its male counterpart, which has made a much fainter mark.

Prostate cancer gets a fraction of what is spent on breast cancer research, and virtually nothing is known about what causes it.

It is the only cancer that doctors debate not just how to treat but whether they should at all. Nine out of 10 men don’t need treatment but the rest will die, and there’s no good way to tell them apart. It also kills at a higher rate than breast cancer. Nearly 32 men out of 100,000 will die of prostate cancer; 27 women out of 100,000 die of breast cancer.

Washington

Report: TSA misled on passenger data

A government investigation has found that the Transportation Security Administration misled the public about its role in obtaining personal information on 12 million airline passengers to test a new computerized, terrorist-screening system.

A report released Friday by Richard Skinner, acting inspector general of the Homeland Security Department, said the TSA had misinformed individuals, the media and Congress in 2003 and 2004. It stopped short of saying TSA lied.

“TSA officials made inaccurate statements regarding these transfers that undermined public trust in the agency,” the report said. “These misstatements were apparently not meant to mischaracterize known facts. Instead, they were premised on an incomplete understanding of the underlying facts.”

Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., said the agency took months to disclose its role in getting the data.

“The American public must know their personal information is well protected, or they will distrust the new systems we need to keep our nation safe,” he said in a statement.

Pennsylvania

Small plane crashes, killing all six aboard

A small plane carrying two families to a college lacrosse game crashed Saturday, killing all six people aboard, authorities said.

The two families had been on vacation in Florida and were going to Pennsylvania State University to watch pilot Jeffrey Jacober’s son play in a lacrosse game, according to a family friend.

Witnesses said the single-engine plane sputtered and hit the ground nose-first near a construction site, less than 10 miles from the airport in State College, said Tim Boyde, a Centre County official who was at the scene.

Officials believe icing may have contributed to the crash, Boyde said.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate, Boyde said.

The dead were identified as Jacober, 51, of Providence; his wife, Karen, 49; their son Eric, 15; Gregg Weingeroff, 49; his wife, Dawn; and their 10-year-old son Leland, said Carl Freedman, an attorney for both men.