As Gulf Oil Disaster Worsens, Concern for Safety of Oil-Rig Workers Gets Less Attention |

As the Environmental and Economic Costs Continue to Mount From Blast That Destroyed BP’s Deepwater Horizon Rig — Now the Worst Man-Made Disaster in U.S. History — Advocates Struggle to Draw Greater Attention to Safety of Workers on Other Offshore Oil Rigs

Response crews pour water on the burning Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico shortly after the April 20 explosion that killed 11 workers and ultimately destroyed the rig and triggered a massive undersea gusher of oil, which now threatens the Gulf Coast with the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history. But as much attention has been focused on the environmental and economic costs of the disaster, less attention has been paid to the 11 workers killed in the blast — whose bodies have never been recovered — and on the safety of workers on other oil rigs in the gulf. (Photo courtesy U.S. Coast Guard)

(Posted 5:00 a.m. EDT Tuesday, June 15, 2010)

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SPECIAL REPORT

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By MIKE LILLIS

The Washington Independent

(Published under a Creative Commons license)

The largest oil spill in U.S. history has received no absence of congressional scrutiny. Yet as lawmakers continue to focus their examinations on the environmental, economic and energy implications of the disaster, a number of labor advocates are beginning to wonder: What about the workers?

Eleven men were killed and dozens more injured, when BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded on April 20 about 40 miles off the coast of Louisiana. The youngest victim, Shane Roshto of Franklin County, Mississippi, was 22; the oldest, Keith Blair Manuel of Eunice, Louisiana, was 56.

To date, none of the bodies have been recovered.

Yet their stories have become mere footnotes beneath the other narratives that quickly monopolized the national headlines – particularly the environmental and economic threats posed by the millions of gallons of crude oil that have gushed into the Gulf of Mexico since the blast.

WORKERS AT HUNDREDS OF GULF OIL RIGS FACE DANGERS

Worker advocates are quick to acknowledge the severity of the ongoing leak. Still, many also warn that ignoring the worker safety issues exposed by the tragedy would be a mistake, especially considering that hundreds of oil and gas rigs – among the most statistically dangerous workplaces in the country – remain active off the nation’s shores.

“The worker-safety issue has been completely lost in this story,” said Tom O’Connor, executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, an advocacy group. “It’s one of the biggest industrial disasters in recent history, and yet Congress [views it] the same as the public: They’re not seeing it as a worker-safety issue.”

Federal statistics support O’Connor’s call for concern. Between 2004 and 2008, the most recent figures available, 563 oil and gas workers were killed on the job, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, including 120 in 2008 – easily dwarfing the 93 coal miners killed in mining-related accidents in a comparable period between 2003 and 2007.

In 2008, the oil and gas industry accounted for more than 10 percent of all workplace fatalities resulting from fires and explosions, according to the federal Minerals Management Service (MMS). And offshore rigs are hardly immune. Between 2001 and 2009, 60 offshore workers were killed on the job, while more than 1,600 were injured, according to the agency.

BP OIL RIGS IN GULF DISASTERS WAITING TO HAPPEN, DOCUMENTS SHOW

[The House Energy and Commerce Committee, which is investigating the April 20 blast, released dozens of internal BP documents Monday that showed BP made a series of decisions aimed at saving money that heightened the risk of a catastrophic blowout, with a BP engineer calling the Deepwater Horizon platform “a nightmare well” in an e-mail issued less than a week before the explosion.

[The release of the documents came just weeks after the online news service Truthout reported that a former contractor who worked for BP warned in a series of e-mails that the British-owned oil conglomerate violated federal worker-safety laws and its own internal procedures by failing to maintain crucial safety and engineering documents related to one of the company’s other deepwater oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.

[The whistleblower, whose identity was not disclosed, raised concerns as far back as November 2008 about safety issues at another BP-owned rig, the BP Atlantis, located about 200 miles south of New Orleans.

[And more than a year ago, an outside consultant who examined procedures at the BP Atlantis rig warned that more than 85 percent of operations were not compliant with either federal workplace safety regulations or with BP’s own safety and environmental management standards and carried a high risk of “catastrophic operator errors.”]

A MUCH DIFFERENT REACTION FROM THAT TOWARD W. VIRGINIA COAL-MINE DISASTER

The reaction to the Deepwater Horizon incident contrasts sharply with the response to another recent industrial disaster: the April 5 explosion at the Upper Big Branch coal mine in southern West Virginia that killed 29 workers and almost killed a 30th. In the wake of that tragedy, it was concern for the well-being of the miners that captivated lawmakers and spurred their indignation.

“[Miners] deserve nothing less than a safe working environment, and an employer who respects and values their safety,” Senator Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia) said in April, echoing the sentiments of many of his colleagues. “We must reexamine the health and safety laws we have put into place and what more may need to be done to avoid future loss of life.”

Since then, three separate labor panels – the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, the Senate Appropriations Labor Subcommittee, and the House Education and Labor Committee – have examined the Upper Big Branch accident.

Neither of those panels has held hearings on the Deepwater Horizon explosion. Senate Democratic leaders were quick to call Gulf spill hearings in the Energy, Environment and Homeland Security committees.

In the House, both the Energy and Natural Resources panels have examined the disaster, while Representative Edolphus Towns (D-New York),chairman of the Government Oversight Committee, has launched an investigation into the actions of federal regulators prior to the accident.

A QUESTION OF WHO HAS JURISDICTION

But, to date, none of the scrutiny has focused on worker safety.

Part of the reason is likely jurisdictional. Unlike mine safety, which is monitored by a branch of the Labor Department (the Mine Safety and Health Administration) — and therefore overseen by Congress’ labor panels — offshore drill rig safety is a responsibility split between the Minerals Management Service, a part of the Interior Department, and the Coast Guard. Neither agency falls under the watch of Congress’ labor experts.

A provision of a 1970 labor law has allowed both the MMS and the Coast Guard to preempt the oversight authority of the Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which focuses exclusively on workplace safety. Critics of that arrangement contend that the other responsibilities of the MMS and the Coast Guard dilute their concentration on occupational safety.

Peg Seminario, safety and health director for the AFL-CIO, suggested that as a result of the 1970 law, the wrong agencies are in charge of overseeing offshore oil rigs. “Those most focused on worker safety and the environment – OSHA and the EPA – don’t have a say in this,” she said. “It’s an area that clearly needs attention.”

Calls by The Washington Independent seeking comment from the MMS and the Coast Guard were not returned.

WHITE HOUSE, CONGRESS NOW ZEROING IN ON WORKPLACE SAFETY

The Obama administration has taken some steps to prevent similar disasters from occurring in the future. On Thursday, the administration acknowledged that the safety rules for offshore rigs have been lacking, with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announcing strict new operating requirements for those projects, as well as a six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling.

Faced with criticisms that the MMS’ duties – which include oil rig leasing, revenue collection and safety enforcement – are conflicting, the Interior Department recently split the agency into three separate parts, one of which will focus exclusively on the “oversight, safety, and environmental protection in all offshore energy activities,” according to an Interior Department spokesman.

[President Obama is scheduled to deliver a televised address the nation from the Oval Office at 9:00 p.m. EDT tonight (Tuesday) on the gulf oil disaster.]

Meanwhile, congressional leaders are urging worker safeguards where they do have jurisdiction in the Gulf region — on land.

Representative George Miller (D-California), chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, wrote to OSHA on Thursday seeking assurances that the agency is protecting workers involved in the cleanup efforts, some of whom have been hospitalized with headaches, nausea and vomiting.

“Much is still unknown about the long-term health effects of chemicals utilized in this cleanup,” Miller wrote, “Especially given the health and safety track record of [BP], heightened vigilance is necessary to ensure that every person aiding the cleanup is provided the necessary information, training and equipment to protect themselves.”

BP A POSSIBLE TAKEOVER TARGET BY CHINESE FIRM?

[Meanwhile, BP’s stock value has fallen by a dramatic $67 billion since the disaster began, leading to speculation that the oil giant could become a target for a takeover by a larger company.

[According to Bloomberg News, BP could become an attractive target for a takeover by a Chinese oil company. The business news service on Thursday quoted analysts at the London-based Standard Chartered Bank as saying that PetroChina, in a bid to top Exxon Mobil as the world’s largest oil firm, would have “persuasive” reasons to seek a takeover of BP.

[A takeover of BP by PetroChina would likely run into a brick wall of opposition by both the U.S. and British governments, however. An $18.5 billion bid in 2005 by the Chinese National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) to purchase Unocal Corporation was scuttled in the face of strong opposition in Congress. Unocal — known for its orange-ball 76 brand — was subsequently acquired by Chevron Corporation (ConocoPhillips now owns the 76 brand).

[BP’s shares have plunged from a year’s high of $62.38 a share on January 19 to a year’s low of $29 a share last Wednesday. It rose slightly on Monday, closing at $30.67 a share.]

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