The document released Wednesday by the presidential commission investigating last spring’s oil blowout in the Gulf of Mexico is a riveting and chilling indictment of “systemic failures” throughout the oil business and of the federal agencies that allowed themselves to be captured by the people they were supposed to regulate. The chapter of the report released early is, by itself, a powerful summons to the Obama administration to press rapidly forward with stronger regulations, and to the industry as a whole to behave far more responsibly than it has.
No government regulatory structure alone can guarantee safety in an industry that must constantly adapt new technology to natural variations in drilling sites and unexpected natural phenomena. Oversight must improve, as the Obama administration has made clear, but also every company involved in oil drilling – not just BP – must individually and in concert with others evaluate industry standards and safety research programs.
The Obama administration offered a proposal on Thursday to allow long-haul Mexican trucks to move cargo in the United States. Under the plan, Mexican long-haul trucking operators could seek permits to operate in the United States so long as they agree to safety, insurance and other monitoring requirements.
The Birmingham Fire Department will receive $124,687 this year to purchase 25 new self-contained breathing apparatuses after being approved for a portion of the 2010 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG).
A Broadway actor who fell more than 20 feet during an aerial stunt in the musical “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” has been released from a rehabilitation center in New York, a show spokesman said. He said Tuesday that he is looking forward to returning to the show and is not concerned about his own safety.
A major ammonia leak Wednesday forced the evacuation of about 800 people living near a Hoke County turkey processing plant run by House of Raeford, a company with a history of chemical safety violations.
The unusual slaying at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda was high-profile, coming on New Year’s Day at the well-known facility. The victim, Roosevelt Brockington, was stabbed more than 70 times in a basement boiler room.
