Coincidence, Just Strange, Poor Safety Practrices, or Sloppy Workers?

[Sourdough]

I find it a little strange that on April 3, 2010 there was an explosion at a refinery near Seattle.  March 3, 2010 there was a fire in a refinery in Artesia New Mexico.  Then Wednesday May 5, 2010 a fuel truck exploded in a San Antonio refinery.

No wonder the cost of gas is going so high.

[Graybeard]

Ya didn't forget about the oil platform in the gulf did ya?

[teamnelson]

y'know I chased that thread a little bit just on oil rig industry accidents, and there does seem to be a sharp spike in the US over the last few months.

[Dee]

From what I Have read the oil platform was "state of the art" and GPS controlled. It was a free floating rig with no moors, and thrusters that triggered off GPS kept it centered. It was suppose to be cutting edge in rigs, with capabilities of drilling at water depths of up to 18,000 feet. The REDUNDANT safeties obviously failed as did the manuals. Kinda like a couple of space shuttles as I recall. BP was LEASING the rig, and it had already been set up by an owner company whom then leased it to BP. Operating costs were in excess of a little more than $1,000,000.00 per day.

[mtbugle]

whats the chance that they are intential happenings that just arn't being claimed. I would suspect this prior to so much coincidence just in U.S.
Thanks Don.

[myronman3]

this isnt the first time the thought that foul play may be involved has crossed my mind.  i wonder often when i hear of incidents if they were accidents or attacks being pawned off as accidents to keep the collective calm. 

[bearmgc]

Maybe the pressure to get the job done with fewer workers figures in. I donno. I do know that industry nowdays tries to cut corners. I've seen it everywhere.

[mirage1988]

From what I Have read the oil platform was "state of the art" and GPS controlled. It was a free floating rig with no moors, and thrusters that triggered off GPS kept it centered. It was suppose to be cutting edge in rigs, with capabilities of drilling at water depths of up to 18,000 feet. The REDUNDANT safeties obviously failed as did the manuals. Kinda like a couple of space shuttles as I recall. BP was LEASING the rig, and it had already been set up by an owner company whom then leased it to BP. Operating costs were in excess of a little more than $1,000,000.00 per day.

So many numbers are being thrown out there. If that rig cost 1 mill per day to operate, why would BP not have a shutoff valve on it that costs a half days production?, especially on a rig that isn't anchored to the seabed? I work in construction and even though speed is important, when safety is an issue, corners aren't cut.
Some folks aren't able to tell the difference between gallons and barrels however, one barrel equals 42 gallons so BP can say it is leaking up to 5000 barrels a day the media will make that same amount of oil to be 210,000 GALLONS per day!

[Victor3]

 Those are just the ones you hear about...

 Many would be surprised at the frequent 'major incidents' involving energy production, heavy manufacturing, mining, etc. that occurr in the US without a mention by the media. With safety advances, most don't involve deaths anymore so don't make for good news.

 I live close to three oil refineries. Huge flames are the norm. Big booms are often heard but rarely generate any fuss unless they kill someone, break windows or spew junk into residential areas.

[Sourdough]

British Patrolium is renown for cutting corners.  Safety is not a big concern with them.  They gamble on nothing happening, and not being caught.

[gypsyman]

Or, could be just accidents. It's like that in the real world, where things go bang in the night. gypsyman

[Glanceblamm]

Maybe the pressure to get the job done with fewer workers figures in. I donno. I do know that industry nowdays tries to cut corners. I've seen it everywhere.

I got to see this first hand with the result being five fatilities and two more badly injured.

[magooch]

I saw how safety was handled from labor's point of view and from management's.  Management must set the tone and follow laws and regulations, but in the end it is often the workers who either due to ignorance, or carelessness cause, or fail to prevent accidents.  Sometimes it's just unforeseen happenstance, but it is always a false economy to cut corners on safety.  It will always catch up and bite you in the pocketbook.

I am not able to bring myself to really believe that refinery fires and explosions   and other such things are on purpose--yet.  It's kind of like believing that our government was responsible for bringing down the twin towers, etc.  Too many people would have to be depended on to keep their mouths shut and too many people would have to be duped.