This piece was reprinted by OpEdNews with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.
Engineering Professor Bob Bea disagreed, telling 60 Minutes that inaccurate pressure readings followed. The real situation was concealed. The rig no longer was safe, and without blowout preventer protection, "a catastrophic accident like the Gulf oil spill" might happen.
Bea also said BP ignored an even more critical safety measure, ordering the rig operator to remove the "drilling mud," the heavy liquid used before the well was sealed to keep oil and gas from escaping.
MMS drilling engineer Frank Patton calls drilling mud "the most important thing in safety for your well." Explosion eyewitnesses, including nearby fishermen, saw it being extracted beforehand. BP told rig workers that "things" were plugged when, in fact, final cementing wasn't in place. Without it and the drilling mud, an operable blowout preventer was the last line of defense. Drilling without it was willful criminal negligence.
So wasn't the whole operation, approved by Obama's Interior Department, including EPA's authorizing the use of toxic dispersants, causing more problems than solutions to the environment, wildlife, affected residents, and fishermen hired as first responders, already getting sick.
BP said respirators and other special protections weren't needed, despite strong hydrocarbon vapors and massive toxic chemical amounts dumped on the slick to make it more water soluble.
As a result, fishermen report bad headaches, burning eyes, persistent coughs, sore throats, stuffy sinuses, nausea, and dizziness - unsurprising based on EPA monitored unsafe airborne levels of dangerous hydrogen sulfide, benzene and other toxins, way exceeding acceptable standards for humans and wildlife.
BP and Washington ignore them, risking chemical poisoning to show up later in long-term illnesses, disabilities and deaths, what happened to Exxon Valdez and 9/11 first responders, never told of the dangers they faced. Again, expediency and corporate interests trump environmental considerations, public health, worker safety, and common sense - swept aside by Washington-BP collusion.
On May 20, with over 600,000 gallons of surface dispersants used and another 55,000 underwater, the EPA told BP officials to choose less toxic ones in 24 hours, submit a list of alternatives, then begin using them within 72 hours.
Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
1
1
1
