Macabre happenings at BP's Texas City oil refinery, where officials have offered a $10,000 reward for information about a hangman's noose discovered in a hydrotreating unit.
The British company has pledged that anyone found responsible for the noose will be fired, or banned from the site if they are not employed by BP.
"Hangman's nooses are regarded as symbols of hatred, intimidation and violence," wrote refinery manager Keith Casey in a memo to employees obtained by the local Galveston County Daily News.
He continued: "Acts like this have no place in our 'house' and are an insult and embarrassment to thousands of people who give 110 percent to make Texas City a world class refinery and a great place to work."
Texas City has made headlines in the past as the site of a catastrophic explosion that killed 15 people and left 170 injured in 2005, when workers overfilled a chemical drum, sending a geyser of flaming liquid cascading over nearby trailers. Severely criticised by regulators, BP has since been making efforts to improve working conditions.
Casey said of the noose: "This kind of behaviour is intolerable, and we will take action when harassment, intimidation, discrimination or retaliation occur in the workplace."
