Category: Oil Spill & Disaster

“VIDEO: Bad Train Car Axle Likely To Blame For Explosive 2013 Derailment In ND, Final NTSB Report Says”

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CASSELTON, N.D. — In releasing a long-awaited investigation report, the National Transportation Safety Board said a defective axle that broke was the likely cause of a fiery 2013 collision between an oil train and a derailed grain train just outside Casselton. At an NTSB meeting Tuesday, Feb. 7, in Washington, D.C., crash investigators said the … Continue reading “VIDEO: Bad Train Car Axle Likely To Blame For Explosive 2013 Derailment In ND, Final NTSB Report Says”

CSB Draft Report Finds Deepwater Horizon Blowout Preventer Failed Due to Unrecognized Pipe Buckling Phenomenon During Emergency Well-Control Efforts on April 20, 2010, Leading to Environmental Disaster in Gulf of Mexico

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   Report Says Similar Accident Could Still Occur, Calls for Better Management of Safety-Critical Elements by Offshore Industry, Regulators     Houston, Texas, June 5, 2014— The blowout preventer (BOP) that was intended to shut off the flow of high-pressure oil and gas from the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico during the disaster on … Continue reading CSB Draft Report Finds Deepwater Horizon Blowout Preventer Failed Due to Unrecognized Pipe Buckling Phenomenon During Emergency Well-Control Efforts on April 20, 2010, Leading to Environmental Disaster in Gulf of Mexico

Deaths In Oil Drilling, And No Oversight In Texas

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Photo By James Nielsen / Associated Press The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration keeps a list of “the worst of the worst” employers in the nation, and drilling companies with multiple fatalities should be on it, safety experts say. SAN ANTONIO — The oil boom has brought Texas much prosperity, but also the stain … Continue reading Deaths In Oil Drilling, And No Oversight In Texas

Another Train Collision in North Dakota Sets DOT 111 Oil Rail Cars Ablaze

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A plume of smoke rises from scene of a derailed train near Casselton, North Dakota December 30, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Michael Vosburg/Forum News Service (Reuters) - A BNSF train carrying crude oil in North Dakota collided with another train on Monday setting off a series of explosions that left at least 10 cars ablaze, the latest … Continue reading Another Train Collision in North Dakota Sets DOT 111 Oil Rail Cars Ablaze

Government Finalizes Safety Rules for Offshore Drilling

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  By JOSH LEDERMAN | August 17, 2012 Government regulators issued a final set of safety rules for offshore drilling Wednesday, fine-tuning a series of emergency measures put in place after the BP oil spill in 2010. Oil industry groups reacted tepidly, saying they were still poring over the 137-page rule released by the Interior … Continue reading Government Finalizes Safety Rules for Offshore Drilling

New Study Says FDA Underestimated Seafood Contamination Risk After BP Oil Spill

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  A new study suggests that following the BP oil spill, the FDA "seriously underestimated the cancer risk from contaminants that can accumulate in seafood," according to a Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) press release. The study, “Seafood Contamination After the BP Gulf Oil Spill and Risks to Vulnerable Populations: A Critique of the FDA Risk Assessment," was … Continue reading New Study Says FDA Underestimated Seafood Contamination Risk After BP Oil Spill

Flood Surge Raises Fear Of Montana Oil Pipleline Rupture Spread – Same Pipeline Shut Down In May 2011For Safety Reasons

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By MATTHEW BROWN LAUREL, Mont. (AP) — Crews cleaning up an oil spill on the Yellowstone River faced difficult conditions today as the scenic waterway rose above flood stage and stoked fears that surging currents could push crude into undamaged areas and back channels vital to the river’s prized fishery. Conditions on the swollen Yellowstone have … Continue reading Flood Surge Raises Fear Of Montana Oil Pipleline Rupture Spread – Same Pipeline Shut Down In May 2011For Safety Reasons

BP’s Safety Drive Faces Rough Road

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By GUY CHAZAN - Wall Street Journal Associated PressA BP operation in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska's North Slope.   Bob Dudley, the new chief executive of BP PLC, has vowed to change the safety culture of the accident-prone oil giant in the wake of the deadly explosion and spill at one of its wells … Continue reading BP’s Safety Drive Faces Rough Road

Exxon Valdez oil risks spur warning for gulf cleanup crews

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They called it the "Valdez crud," but it was more than a cough and diarrhea. "We thought it was a flu that was going around and every­body kept getting it," said Merle Savage, who was general foreman of the cleanup crews of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska's Prince William Sound. Instead, the … Continue reading Exxon Valdez oil risks spur warning for gulf cleanup crews

BP Engineer Called Deepwater Horizon ‘Nightmare Well’ Days Before Blast, Oil Spill

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BP took measures to cut costs in the weeks before the catastrophic blowout in the Gulf of Mexico as it dealt with one problem after another, prompting a BP engineer to describe the doomed rig as a "nightmare well," according to internal documents released Monday. The comment by BP engineer Brian Morel came in an … Continue reading BP Engineer Called Deepwater Horizon ‘Nightmare Well’ Days Before Blast, Oil Spill

BP’s Suttles: ‘Top Kill’ Effort Fails to Stop Oil’

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In a Saturday evening press conference, BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles and Coast Guard Rear Adm. Mary Landry said that the "top kill" effort to stem the Gulf oil spill had failed after three days of attempts. "We have not been able to stop the flow," Suttles said. "We have made the decision to … Continue reading BP’s Suttles: ‘Top Kill’ Effort Fails to Stop Oil’

BP sees ‘some success’ with top kill method as of Friday, May 28, 2010

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BP has measured "some success" in the Gulf of Mexico with a risky procedure known as "top kill," which has never been tried before a mile under the ocean's surface, the company's top executive said Friday. The oil flow stopped when heavy drilling mud was being pumped into the well at high pressure, but it … Continue reading BP sees ‘some success’ with top kill method as of Friday, May 28, 2010