Digital Media Center
Bryant-Denny Stadium, Gate 61
920 Paul Bryant Drive
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0370
(800) 654-4262

© 2024 Alabama Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Safety Board Faults Key Device In BP Oil Spill

A federal investigative board concludes that the last-ditch safety device that didn't stop the 2010 BP oil spill had multiple failures.
The Associated Press
A federal investigative board concludes that the last-ditch safety device that didn't stop the 2010 BP oil spill had multiple failures.

A federal investigative board concludes that the last-ditch safety device that didn't stop the 2010 BP oil spill had multiple failures, wasn't tested properly and still poses a risk for many rigs drilling today.

The report issued Thursday by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board zeroes in on what went wrong with the blowout preventer and blames bad management and operations. And that, they said, led to the dumping of 172 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

Investigators have long known that the device failed. But safety board managing director Daniel Horowitz says the problems were worse than officials had figured and are potentially still a problem for some active rigs now.

The massive blowout preventers use multiple mechanisms to choke off the oil flow.

Related Content
News from Alabama Public Radio is a public service in association with the University of Alabama. We depend on your help to keep our programming on the air and online. Please consider supporting the news you rely on with a donation today. Every contribution, no matter the size, propels our vital coverage. Thank you.