Tag: Deepwater Horizon

OSHA Chief: Workplace Deaths Are ‘Rarely Accidental’

Although workplace deaths are often called accidents, they “are rarely ‘accidental,’ as in a matter of chance or bad luck,” according to Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health David Michaels in a recent opinion piece. Michaels says the issue can usually be traced back to decisions by employers and managers? Agree? Disagree? […]

Drilling Rig Rule Focuses on Blowout Preventers

Following the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf Coast, the Department of the Interior (DOI) bureau in charge of issuing and enforcing environmental and safety regulations acted relatively quickly to release its drilling safety rule (August 2012).

O&G Proposal Worries Industry

The Department of Interior’s (DOI) most recent and perhaps most consequential responses to the catastrophic April 2010 Deepwater Horizon blowout in the Gulf of Mexico are proposed regulations for blowout preventer (BOP) systems and well control, which were published in the April 17, 2015, Federal Register.

Incentivizing Safety: Does Linking CEO Bonuses to EHS Goals Work?

A company’s safety and environmental compliance and performance are critical to its long-term survival. One single catastrophic incident, such as the release of methylisocyanate gas from a Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India in 1984 can take down even a global corporation. And, the same can happen to smaller companies and can result from smaller-scale […]

Employer Beware: Don’t Fall for False OSHA Inspectors

Shortly after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, a woman named Connie Knight began making the rounds of the Southeast Asian fishing communities in coastal Louisiana. She claimed to be a high-ranking OSHA hazardous waste safety instructor and inspector, and she showed off federal identification cards to prove it. She promised trainees that she could […]