We all have a responsibility to be good stewards of the earth and its creatures (Genesis 1:26), BP and its legislative pals have violated and abused this entrustment.
BP OIL SPILL, A DAMNING BLUNDER
BY Michael Robinson
Are the executives, scientists and engineers of BP working hard enough to stop the oil that’s hemorrhaging from our planet’s Gulf floor? In the court of public opinion, the suits at BP are underperforming and have repeatedly failed to correct a disaster that will have long-standing negative ecological, economic and health implications for Americans, for years to come.
BP’s prodigious blunder seems to be boggling the minds of its corporate officials and our esteem Executive Branch of government. Am I naïve to assume that engineering contingency plans and certifiable fail-safe protocols are supposed to be in place to avert such disasters? According to recent reports written in The Times-Picayune Newspaper, in New Orleans, the anger and impatience of Louisiana residents are expanding faster than the millions of gallons of oil that continues to gush out.
Is BP’s oil spill debacle a result of lenient federal regulatory rules and enforcement? In 2007, BP was under investigation for various safety violations. According to reports, “One violation cited the fact that 38 process safety recommendations were not implemented…” In 2005, an explosion at BP’s Texas City refinery killed 15 people and injured over 100 workers. “Under a plea agreement, BP paid a $50 million fine and agreed to three years of probation for violating federal clean air laws.” The recent BP explosion in the Gulf area killed 11 workers and is spewing an estimated 210,000 gallons of oil a day!
The Huffington Post reported that BP didn't file plans with the Feds to handle a major oil spill at its “…Deepwater Horizon project because the federal agency that regulates offshore rigs changed its rules two years ago to exempt certain projects in the central Gulf region...” Many political pundits feel that the federal government has a too cozy relationship with major oil companies.
The deep seeded public ire and resentment that’s mounting against BP (and its cozy legislative pals) is reminiscent of the Exxon Valdez spill. In a 2005 Monthly Review Foundation article written by Becky Clausen, “Many recognized the oil cleanup as the PR charade it was, and remained skeptical of rapid recovery announcements that poured out of the Exxon ‘science’ circus.”
Residents, and especially clean-up crews, risk inhalation of PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon) – a poisonous chemical oil mist that’s created from pressurized hot water wash clean-up of oil covered rocks on shores and water banks. Inhalation of oil vapors and mists, as well as exposure to the highly toxic detergents and dispersants that are used in oil spill clean-up, are extremely dangerous to humans and wild life.
According to Clausen’s article, oil spill clean-up solvents contain “…health hazards known to cause respiratory damage and central nervous system disorder; chronic liver, kidney, and blood disorders; immune suppression; and acute skin disorders. Toxicologists discovered high levels of petroleum hydrocarbons in cleanup workers' blood samples, similar to levels found in people working in oilfields in the Gulf War. Follow-up medical surveys conducted by Yale Medical School’s Department of Epidemiology and Public Health document chronic symptoms of chemical sensitivities for exposed Exxon cleanup workers. To this day, some Exxon cleanup workers suffer from headaches, nausea, seizures, and cancer. Yet, only one worker has successfully litigated against Exxon for health compensation, all other cases have been dismissed on technicalities. Unbelievably, Exxon claimed a near-zero work related illness rate to the Alaska Department of Labor.”
What sweetheart legal deal will BP executives (and legislative cronies) broker to minimize their culpability for this current disaster?
Such a large-scale disaster and BP’s inept attempts to resolve this current oil spill problem, at minimum, warrants jail time and record-setting punitive damages. It is time to right the wrongs and abuses of the super wealthy conglomerates that get off easy because of cozy relationships with legislators. In his book Tyranny of the Bottom Line, Ralph Estes explains how corporate monopolies and oligopolies have pillaged and killed communities and workers for the benefit of maximizing their profits. How will BP and its legislative pals flex their clout to spin this disaster to their advantage?
Remember, people were killed in this recent oil spill disaster, widespread human and wild life health will be negatively impacted by the clean-up, communities and marine areas have been destroyed, and family income and livelihoods have been devastated! Don’t be fooled, don’t drink the kool-aid; rest assure, you will be awed and duped by a well-crafted and highly financed public relations effort to spin and sway your public opinion about this debacle.
Rise above all the morass to hold each individual involved in this debacle legally, financially and politically accountable! The recompense must be so severe that corporate executives and legislators will think very seriously about risking the well-being of the workers, consumers, citizens and the communities they serve. We all have a responsibility to be good stewards of the earth and its creatures (Genesis 1:26), BP and its legislative pals have violated and abused this entrustment.
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