The Labor Department has recommended three companies pay over $3.5 million in fines in connection with multiple employees at a Texas shipping terminal suffering injuries last year after 1 million gallons of sulfuric acid leaked at the facility.

The companies' failing to protect workers was "not an oversight, but "a choice that resulted in preventable employee injuries and environmental impacts," David Keeling, the assistant secretary for the department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration, said in announcing the recommendation.

The toxic spill occurred at a BWC Terminals site in Channelview, Texas, on Dec. 27, 2025. OSHA conducted inspections at BWC, as well as two companies involved in cleanup.

The announcement states the companies failed to protect workers "during post-emergency response cleanup."

An initial news report described the facility as an industrial plant in southeast Texas and says over 40 people were treated, and two people were hospitalized after a catwalk structure collapsed onto a 6-inch sulfuric acid supply line, causing the leak.

Sulfuric acid can cause intense chemical burns in humans, respiratory damage from inhaled fumes, and potentially fatal injuries if untreated.

OSHA also concluded the companies “chose to bypass ... requirements and put their workers at serious risk.”

According to OSHA, BWC Terminals disregarded safety protocol and “mixed fresh and spent sulfuric acid, triggering a tank overpressure that ruptured the supply line released the chemical.

The three companies facing the fines are BWC Terminals, Coastal Environmental Solutions Inc. and its subcontractor, One Way Environmental Services LLC. The latter two were hired to address hazardous waste cleanup, and both lacked adequate employee training and employee safety measures, according to the federal agencies. 

The department announced the following violations and proposed penalties: 

• BWC Terminals, cited with six serious violations, faces fines of $82,750.
• Coastal Environmental Solutions Inc., cited with two willful and five serious violations, faces fines of $392,501.
• One Way Environmental Services LLC, cited with 18 willful egregious and five serious violations, faces fines of $3,045,452.

• The companies have 15 business days to respond to the citations.