Re: [Paddlewise] BP & oil rig

On Sun, May 9, 2010 at 8:24 AM, Rich Kulawiec <rsk_at_rockandwater.net> wrote:

>
> It's abundantly clear that the root causes of all these sit on the
> desk of BP executives, who have a decades-long record of skimping
> on safety whenever possible in order to line their own pockets.
>
> It's an industry-wide problem but it seems BP is the most egregious.
example. When I worked on drill rigs I thought that it was ironic that
safety "posters" were everywhere and there were safety awards (I still have
steel-toed boots that were given to me as one of my safety awards) and talks
but safety was not allowed to interfere with operations. And if you didn't
like it there was always a helicopter to the beach and another oil field
worker waiting for your job.

BP - which, by the way, once promised to never engage in retail operations
in the USA in exchange for its original exclusive control over Alaska's
north slope oil fields, is certainly the worst of all operators based upon
its history. Exxon, Chevron, ARCO and others have operations all over the
world but you really don't see or hear much about them when it comes to
environmental issues. Sure, there was the Exxon Valdez but, as I've
mentioned (and corroborated by the articles Rich links to), BP played a
central part in that disaster as well.

The regulations are there but political pressure is always brought to bear
when it comes to punishments. Maybe this time there will be a change. We'll
see.

Thanks for those links, Rich.


Craig Jungers
Moses Lake, WA
www.nwkayaking.net
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