Abstract: At approximately 4:45 a.m. on January 24, 2006, an accident occurred at The Tesoro Golden Eagle Refinery located in Martinez, California. The day before the accident, the unit operator noticed that Vessel Number 618 was draining very slowly. The unit operator notified Employee #1 who was working the night shift from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., of the extended drain times. While draining Vessel Number 618, Employee #1 heard a rumbling sound coming from the tank, and then liquid shot out of the drain, spraying him. He was wearing safety glasses but not a face shield or splash goggles. The liquid that sprayed Employee # 1 was a high pH caustic liquid. Employee # 1 was temporarily blinded and had to be assisted to the safety shower and eyewash facility by his coworkers. Employee # 1 was admitted to Doctors Hospital in San Pablo and treated for six days in a hyperbaric chamber, and received saline eye flushes. For the first three days he could not see, and the next three he had very blurry vision. An analysis of the accident indicated that it may have been prevented if the draining operation had been converted to a completely closed system. Injury to the employee could have been prevented if he had been wearing appropriate ppe, such as a face shield or chemical splash goggles.