Occupational Safety and Health Administration Logs

Why does BP have a terrible safety record?

BP has a long record of oil-related disasters in the United States. In 2005, BP's Texas City, Texas, refinery exploded, killing 15 workers and injuring another 170. The next year, one of its Alaska pipelines leaked 200,000 gallons of crude oil. According to Public Citizen, BP has paid $550 million in fines. BP seems to particularly enjoy violating the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, and has paid the two largest fines in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's history. (Is it any surprise that BP played a central, though greatly under-reported, role in the failure to contain the Exxon-Valdez spill years earlier?) With Deepwater Horizon, BP didn't break its dismal trend. In addition to choosing a cheaper — and less safe — casing to outfit the well that eventually burst, the company chose not to equip Deepwater Horizon with an acoustic trigger, a last-resort option that could have shut down the well even if it was damaged badly, and which is required in most developed countries that allow offshore drilling. In fact, BP employs these devices in its rigs located near Great Britain, but because the United States recommends rather than requires them, BP had no incentive to buy one — even though they only cost $500,000.

Public Comments

1. shut up, buy gas somewhere else and shut up
2. Profit.
3. why was obama preparing to give BP a safety award...an inconvenient truth ain't it???
4. Why did the Obama administration give this particular drill rig a safety award?
5. Greed exacerbated by poor regulation and virtually no oversight.
6. A very good question, ignore Zach, he just wants to round up illegal aliens. There was a test that would have determined the overall strength of the system they chose not to perform. Why? because it cost $125,000 to perform. How cheap is that? It's all bottom line with them. If it costs more than the fine screw it. They care zero about any damages to the ecosystem. That's why we should hit them hard as possible and make an example out of them. Exxon has made a nice turn around, I will buy their fuel whenever possible. Any one company that has 97% of the total violations in the field against them should be shut down anyway. Now Zach, you can go ask about Obamas birth certificate again.
7. Greed. The love of money is the root of all evil. Bp aren't the only ones. We have had cadmium and lead in children's toys, pet food that kills, cars without gas pedal and brake control, to name just a few. That is why it is imperative there be rules they must follow to protect the rest of us.
8. greed.
9. Mainly, the problem has more to do with "conflict of interest"......the ones who were suppose to "watch out" for any "issues" and such were given "gifts", etc. by the oil companies (they all do it), so to make a long sordid story short.....well I think you know the rest. If only they'd already had the relief well done when they were drilling this "gusher" as a precaution, you know just in case something might happen (don't people think about "what if.." any more) The cost of already having it in place (instead of in Aug.) now seems like a "drop" in the barrel!! :(