Big Oil Fought Off New Safety Rules Before Rig Explosion

[kpete]

Source: Huffington Post

Big Oil Fought Off New Safety Rules Before Rig Explosion

First Posted: 04-26-10 05:00 PM | Updated: 04-27-10 10:18 AM


As families mourn the 11 workers thrown overboard in the worst oil rig disaster in decades and as the resulting spill continues to spread through the Gulf of Mexico, new questions are being raised about the training of the drill operators and about the oil company's commitment to safety.

Deepwater Horizon, the giant technically-advanced rig which exploded on April 20 and sank two days later, is leaking an estimated 42,000 gallons per day through a pipe about 5,000 feet below the surface. The spill has spread across 1,800 square miles -- an area larger than Rhode Island -- according to satellite images, oozing its way toward the Louisiana coast and posing a threat to wildlife, including a sperm whale spotted in the oil sheen.

The massive $600 million rig, which holds the record for boring the deepest oil and gas well in the world -- at 35,050 feet - had passed three recent federal inspections, the most recent on April 1, since it moved to its current location in January. The cause of the explosion has not been determined.

Yet relatives of workers who are presumed dead claim that the oil behemoth BP and rig owner TransOcean violated "numerous statutes and regulations" issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the U.S. Coast Guard, according to a lawsuit filed by Natalie Roshto, whose husband Shane, a deck floor hand, was thrown overboard by the force of the explosion and whose body has not yet been located.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/26/big-oil-fought-off-new-sa_n_552575.html

[Roland99]

1. No different than the coal companies.

[wysimdnwyg]

10. Exactly

When is the last time a disaster like this, or the recent coal mine explosion, happened at a wind or solar farm? Do we really need MORE reason to switch to sustainable, green energy production?

[Tippy]

2. WAKE UP AMERICA

When are we going to do SOMETHING besides talk and bitch...Congress if you Can't, I guaranted the voters will find some one who can....

[proudohioan]

3. And why doesn't THAT surprise me!!!!!! nt

[Titanothere]

4. Some details would be nice, OSHA dings everything

there's a big difference between a BOP (blowout preventor) not being installed and the fry cook not wearing PPE (hairnet)

It's a good thing nobody knows who BP is, if it had been Exxon there'd be one protest after another.

[Uncle Joe]

5. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, kpete.

[SpiralHawk]

6. "Drill, baby, drill. Smirk." - Sarah Pale Horse (R)

"Ooooops. FAIL again. As usual. At least we republicons are consistent. Smirk."

- Sarah Pale Horse (R)

[Jumping John]

7. I would like to see an explanation as to why the Blow out preventer is defective too. n/t

[Demeter]

8. Any Facts Beyond the Dead and Missing Would Be a Bonus

[benld74]

9. What facts are you referring?

[Zoeisright]

11. Gee, isn't this God's punishment for something?

Oh, that's right. The states that will be covered with the oil slick are RED states, therefore they never get punished for anything.

[sabrina 1]

12. BP has a terrible record of violations over a long period of time.

Human rights, environmental, corroded pipelines which led to an explosion in 2008 in Prudhoe Bay. They have been accused of human rights violations in other countries. They've received huge fines also. A lot like Massey Energy in fact.

http://fredfelleman.wordpress.com/2010/03/01/no-more-spills-bp-teams-up-with-university-of-manchester/

i]There are further concerns over BP’s poor human rights record. In 2006, BP had a multi-million dollar settlement with a group of Colombian farmers after accusations that BP benefited from a campaign of harassment and intimidation carried about by the Colombian paramilitaries who were employed to guard a BP pipeline. It was never alleged that BP had any involvement in any of the paramilitaries’ activities.