• Posted on Thursday, September 15, 2011
  • Bookmark and Share
  • email
  • |
  • print
  • |
  • rss

tool name

close
tool goes here

Commentary: Gulf oil spill report proves prevention is everything

email this story print this story jump to comments

The most exhaustive report to date about the Deepwater Horizon explosion lays most of the blame on decisions and practices by BP. The report also holds other companies responsible. But the federal investigation by the Coast Guard and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement puts BP front and center.

Two criticisms are particularly telling, both for conclusions about this disaster and warnings to prevent others.

One is that company managers made some decisions "blindly," skipping safety routines that might have alerted them and others to potential dangers.

The second is the report's conclusion that BP jeopardized safety to cut costs. Investigators noted that performance evaluations noted cost savings by 13 workers on the Macondo well.

Safety procedures can be time-consuming and expensive. They cut into the bottom line.

Had they been followed on the Deepwater Horizon in work on the Macondo well, 11 oil rig workers likely would still be alive. Two hundred million gallons of crude oil likely would not have spilled into gulf waters.

Shell might already be exploring in Alaska's Arctic waters.

To read the complete editorial, visit www.adn.com.

  • Bookmark and Share
  • email
  • |
  • print
  • |
  • rss

tool name

close
tool goes here
JOIN THE DISCUSSION

We welcome comments. To post one, you must sign in using either your McClatchyDC login or your login for Facebook, Twitter or Disqus. Just click the appropriate box below.

Please keep your comment civil, short and to the point. Obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. If you find a comment abusive or inappropriate, please flag it for the moderator by placing your cursor on the comment, then clicking the "flag" link that appears. Thanks for your participation.

Stay Connected

Sign up for email newsletters RSS
Follow us on your iPhone Follow us on your Android device
Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us using Google Currents

FEATURED COLUMNIST

leonard pitts jr.

Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 2004. He is the author of the Novel, Before I Forget. Read his latest commentary here.

COMMENTARY AROUND MCCLATCHY

FEATURED COLUMNIST

joe galloway

McClatchy's veteran war correspondent, Joseph L. Galloway, retired in January 2010 after half a century in the newspaper business. Read his farewell column, and an archive of his take-no-prisoners commentary. Here's one of his most-requested columns, "Fridays at the Pentagon."