Government Accountability Project

Protecting Corporate, Government & International Whistleblowers since 1977

Disaster Accountability

Can BP’s Money Buy It Justice?

on September 29, 2010

Some say money can’t buy everything. But for BP, money sure seems to be able to buy enough litigation and lobbying power to stay in business, even with its persistent, egregious safety violations that have led to more than one deadly disaster.

While BP’s older crimes may have been overshadowed lately by the more current and devastating Gulf oil spew, it should not be forgotten that the company is still litigating charges related to a 2005 blast at a Texas refinery that killed 15 workers. With the Gulf oil spill and the 40-day release of toxic chemicals from its Texas refinery, BP has its hands full with not one, but three environmental catastrophes. All three remain unresolved.

2005 BP Texas City incident diagram
Regarding the refinery case, the Justice Department recently decided not to revoke the three-year probation it had imposed on BP due to the numerous safety violations (both criminal and civil) found during the federal investigation into the 2005 accident. Although the probation period allowed BP time to respond to violations, it has to date failed to properly respond to all safety issues or fully pay its fines. Although the government warned that it might revoke or renew the probation, it then backed off of its threat – presumably to avoid subjecting the company to further criminal prosecution. Of course, family members of those killed in the accident have been advocating for more, not less, prosecution.

Furthermore, a probe into safety issues at the refinery found that the initial violations noted by federal regulators only scratched the surface of a trove of (shock!) even more violations. This mirrors what we’ve seen in the Gulf – both in the spill itself as well as in the cleanup – where the information that has come forward continues to prompt yet more questions.

 

Photo by flickr user IBRRC
We now know that dangerous dispersants were being used in the cleanup and that BP was barring media access to oil-soaked sites. But why has the cleanup effort been shrouded in a veil of secrecy in the first place? What about the devastating ailments plaguing Gulf Coast residents, the reports of massive kill zones and dead marine life, and the widely disparate scientific studies on what’s happened to all that oil and dispersant? In light of a 1978 oil spill cleanup in Brooklyn, in which oil dating back to 1948 was found, somehow assurances that “75 percent of the oil is gone” don’t quite make sense. Let’s not forget that the initial (BP-backed) flow rate estimates of 1,000 barrels per day skyrocketed to over 60,000.

It seems that the more we continue to investigate BP, the more dark secrets we shall find. This is not a surprise. Yet, the question remains -- how far will it go before meaningful changes are enacted to protect those who have suffered from the carelessness of BP, and those courageous few insiders who have blown the whistle?

Lindsay Bigda is Communications Fellow for the Government Accountability Project, the nation's leading whistleblower advocacy organization.
Read more »  
Comments: 1
 

Huffington Post - Who Is to Blame for the BP Disaster?

on August 27, 2010

By Michael J. Wilson

Everyone in America seems to have an opinion about who is responsible for the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Liberals blame Tony Hayward and the rest of BP's greedy and irresponsible management. Conservatives like to blame President Obama (in general) and the Mineral Management Services incompetent regulation (in particular). Then Sarah "Drill, Baby, Drill" Palin just knows that it isn't her responsibility.

The real answer is, "none of the above." Yes, BP's management and Mineral Management Services share some responsibility, but blaming them entirely ignores the fundamental problem of the 21st century workplace.

Sherlock Holmes once solved a baffling case by noticing that the dog didn't bark. It's the same clue here as well. Every one of the 126 workers on the Deepwater Horizon knew there were serious safety problems. Every one of them knew they were risking their lives every day they went to work. Why didn't they complain? Why didn't they call the OSHA, the EPA, the AFL-CIO, their Member of Congress, or the New York Times? The workers might not have known exactly who to call, but they could have found someone to pay attention. Why didn't they try?

The answer is simple; they didn't want to lose their jobs. Given the horrible choice of risking their lives at work or being unable to put a roof over their family's head, they chose danger. It's why miners work in non-union mines and why workers labor in meatpacking plants where there are more USDA inspectors than OSHA inspectors.

Read more »
 

Blowing the Whistle on another BP Oil Rig

on June 02, 2010

oilcleanup_copyThe BP oil rig disaster is quickly becoming one of the worst environmental catastrophes of our time. The parties involved are pointing fingers...but did someone have foresight into this type of event happening? On the latest episode of the Government Accountability Project’s Whistle Where You Work series, we look at how a whistleblower from a different BP oil rig has been trying to expose critical safety lapses for years – but his efforts seem to have fallen on deaf ears. The group representing the whistleblower filed a lawsuit in May against the federal government, attempting to force it to shut down this other rig. They say this rig could turn into an even worse disaster than the first.

What are the similarities between the problems of this rig, and the problems with the one that exploded? Why wasn't more oversight performed? Could this event have been avoided? What is the track record of the agencies in charge?

Our guests include Wenonah Hauter, the Executive Director of Food & Water Watch, a non-profit organization representing the whistleblower, and Mandy Smithberger, an investigator with the Project on Government Oversight.

For our second segment, we revisit the first day of the National Whistleblower Assembly on May 24, 2010, where legendary NYPD whistleblower Frank Serpico, whose story is memorialized by the classic film that shares his name, gave the opening remarks.

--------------------

Dylan Blaylock is Communications Director at the Government Accountability Project, the nation's leading whistleblower advocacy organization.
Read more »  
Comments: 0
 

BP Refuses EPA Order, Contractors Get Sick, and the Rest of Us are Getting Angry... More on the Gulf Oil Spill

on May 25, 2010

4543311558_30eb68a7df_copyThirty-five days have passed since the massive oil well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico, which lead to the ongoing oil spill crisis, today described by the White House as the worst spill in United States history. The most conservative estimates place the amount of oil released so far at more than seven million gallons, and the most liberal place the amount at more than 11 million gallons. In comparison, the iconic Exxon Valdez spill released 10.8 million gallons. There is no current estimate for when the oil flow will be stopped.

In other news, BP has refused to comply with a directive from the EPA that ordered the company to switch to a different chemical in its attempt to clean up the spill. Corexit chemicals, which as we blogged about previously, are considered by some experts to be more dangerous than oil. The Corexit chemicals are prohibited for use on oil spills in England and have been linked to many health problems following their use on the Exxon Valdez spill. BP has used more than 700,000 gallons so far on the spill, which according the head of the EPA is "approaching a world record."

In addition, there are emerging reports that the chemicals may already be causing illness in the Gulf. WDSU-TV, a New Orleans TV station, reported that some local fishermen contracted by BP to help clean up the spill have become sick. One fisherman said:

"I've been coughing up stuff," Gary Burris said. "Your lungs fill up." … Burris said that when he went to a doctor after feeling ill on Sunday, the doctor told him his lungs looked like those of a three-pack-a-day smoker, and Burris said he has never smoked."

We also recently blogged about BP's attempts to shut down the flow of information about the oil spill -- since that time a Mother Jones reporter has been doing a great job Tweeting and writing about her experiences in the region. Some of her most interesting encounters include: cops telling tourists that beaches are still open, but telling all media the beaches are closed and to report to a "BP Information Center;" an interaction with a BP spokeswoman who unknowingly told her that BP has "a lot" of sway over the sheriff's office; and an attempt to get in touch with the police only to get redirected to voicemail for a BP rep.

Read more »  
Comments: 0
 

BP Cracks Down on Media Access, the Feds Refuse to Act, and Other Oil Spill Shenanigans

on May 20, 2010
A few more major stories are out concerning the BP oil spill in the Gulf Coast:

First, ProPublica rounds up several instances in which BP has attempted to slow the flow of information about the spill. Reports are out, nonetheless, about BP refusing to publicize results of “tests on the extent of workers’ exposure to evaporating oil or from the burning crude over the Gulf.” The tests could be an important tool in determining whether or not it is currently safe for workers in the Gulf. 

Similarly, CBS News reporters were banned from filming a beach covered with oil in Louisiana by a motley crew of BP contractors and members of the Coast Guard. The reporters were threatened with arrest if they continued to attempt filming the beach. One of the men said to the reporters: “This is BP’s rule. It’s not ours.” Just who is supposed to be in charge then? This incident raises serious questions about the involvement of the government with BP. CBS reports: "We spoke with Coast Guard officials today; they say they're looking into it."

Prominent scientists are also raising concerns about the government's response to the oil spill, according to a New York Times report. The scientists argue that by now, the Obama administration should have certainly released test results on water from the deep ocean near the spill, and should be pushing BP to release more information as well. The deep ocean tests are specifically important because the oil spill is nearly a mile below the surface.

The Huffington Post reports that Representative Edward Markey (D-Mass.), head of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, demanded and will soon receive live streaming video of the oil spill in Gulf, following heavy criticism of BP for not releasing video sooner. As we blogged about previously, many scientists have come forward to say that even the short, grainy video clips released by BP earlier prove that the scope of the disaster is much larger than BP estimated.

Read more »  
Comments: 0
 
Page 2 of 4