Archive for the ‘Oil Worker Injuries’ Category

On July 29, the United States House of Representatives passed legislation that would increase the liability cap for oil spills and create new safety standards for offshore drilling.

The purpose of the legislation is threefold.  First, it is meant to provide adequate compensation to those who suffered economic injuries due to an oil spill.  Second, it is meant to protect the environment from future oil spills.  Finally, it is meant to protect offshore drilling workers from injuries and fatalities related to their work.

It was widely expected that the Senate would take up the issue before the August recess.  However, the Senate has left Washington for the August recess without considering the legislation and it is currently unknown whether the Senators will consider offshore drilling safety legislation when they return in September.

Earlier this week, the Obama Administration announced a new ban on deepwater oil drilling.  An earlier ban by the White House had been rejected by the federal courts for being overly broad.  The new order stops all deep sea oil drilling until November 30, 2010 but may be lifted sooner for some owners if those owners are able to prove they can meet new safety requirements and control a large oil spill.

Will this ban have its intended effect and create safer conditions for the environment and for those who work on deep sea rigs?  Will fatal oil rig accidents be reduced when the ban is lifted?  Perhaps, if the companies that own the drilling operations comply with new safety requirements and take the steps necessary to protect oil workers.

Very few studies have been conducted on the long term health effects of oil spill cleanup workers.  On Tuesday, the Institute of Medicine warned that oil spill cleanup workers should be cautious of the potential health effects related to their maritime work.

The Risk of DNA Degradation

The Institute of Medicine believes that DNA degradation is the single biggest risk facing the oil spill cleanup crew.  DNA degradation can cause birth defects, cancer, and permanent neurological damage.  It will most likely effect workers who are closest to the spill since the dangerous components of oil may dissipate in the water as workers get further from the source of the spill.

143 Health Complaints Received Since the April Spill

To date, 143 health complaints related to the oil spill have been received.  Yet, we are only 2 months into the effort.  It is possible that many people have already suffered significant harm that will not be apparent for years to come.

The Institute of Medicine is recommending that the maritime injuries related to oil cleanup be studied so that proper treatment can be provided to injured workers and so that proper precautions can be taken if an oil spill occurs again.

It has been almost two months since the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico.  The news has gone from bad, to worse, to catastrophic over the past seven weeks.  Every day brings different and astonishing news about this oil spill.

It is hard to pick just 10 shocking facts about this incident, but did you know:

1. A week before the April 20 explosion, a BP engineer referred to this particular well as a “nightmare well.”
2. California Representative Barry Waxman has said that BP made decisions to cut costs and save money at the expense of safety which, at least in part, led to this catastrophe.
3. The June 15, 2010 government estimate indicates that as much as 2.5 million gallons a day may be leaking from the oil well.
4. If the high end estimate provided by the government on June 15 is correct, the amount of oil leaking from the BP Deepwater Horizon site equals the amount of the Exxon Valdez spill every four days.
5. BP had a controlling interest in the Alaska oil industry consortium that was supposed to clean up the Exxon Valdez mess and it messed up that operation allowing the effects of the Exxon Valdez spill to worsen.
6. BP is planning to purchase machines to aid in the oil clean up from Kevin Costner.
7. 17 nations have offered to help the United States with the cleanup effort.
8. It is possible that the Gulf Oil Spill may affect the East Coast of the United States or even Europe depending on the extent of the spill, ocean currents, and strong storms.
9. This oil spill could affect more than 400 different species of birds as well as many different types of marine life and vegetation.
10. The effect of this oil spill on humans may continue for generations as many different industries, such as the once vibrant commercial fishing industry, are decimated.

Perhaps, the most shocking fact about the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill is that now, almost two months after the accident, we still know surprisingly little for certain and we must content with an ever changing, yet always horrific, set of facts.