An Occupational Safety and Health Administration official on Thursday urged lawmakers to strengthen penalties for safety violations by oil and gas companies, claiming the industry has consistently failed to grasp safety lessons.
At a hearing before the Senate Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety, OSHA Deputy Assistant Secretary Jordan Barab said available fines are too small to be a deterrent.
Subcommittee chairwoman Senator Patty Murray(D-Wash.) noted that April’s oil rig explosion was not an isolated incident. In the last two months, she said, there have been 13 fires, 19 deaths and 25 injuries in the oil and gas industry, and one fire per week since January.
Murray also assailed BP for failing to attend the subcommittee hearing. “Honestly, I find it very outrageous that even after an accident that killed 11 workers, BP is not putting a high enough priority on worker safety to send a representative to a hearing specifically focused on protecting workers in their industry,” she said.
Yesterday, the federal government doubled previous oil spill estimates when it projected that between 42 million to 80 million gallons of oil have leaked into the Gulf of Mexico since April.
BP plans to expedite payments to local businesses and residents affected by the oil slick, the Washington Post reports, but the company has not been clear about how many claims it has paid or plans to pay, and in what amounts.
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As an occupational safety manager myself, I’ve seen it entirely too many times! It’s not all the private sectors fault. OSHA has to ensure their inspector’s are proactive. I myself have called OSHA about safety violations. One particular incident was a fiberglass company exposing their workers to hazards chemicals without training and PPE. OSHA has failed to respond to any of my call ins or letters in which I sent them. OSHA needs to step up and do their job. I don’t see any issues with their current standards outside of them not enforcing them.