LOS ANGELES (AP) - A federal agency that oversees offshore oil
drilling identified so many accidents in a study published last
year that officials were moving to create new safety rules before
this week's oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.
A Minerals and Management Service study found 41 deaths and 302
injuries out of 1,443 incidents from 2001 to 2007, according to
records obtained by the Associated Press on Friday. The agency
determined the majority of the accidents were caused by human error
and operational and maintenance deficiencies.
The new rules would require a rig operator to develop a program
focused on preventing human error, an area that hadn't received as
much attention in the past.
An explosion Tuesday sank a rig off the coast of Louisiana and
11 workers are still missing.


Permalink | Comments