Environment Archive

NWF Top 10 Pipeline Accident States

August 13th, 2010. By AbiK

An interesting tidbit from the National Wildlife Federation’s (NWF) report, Assault on America: A Decade of Petroleum Company Disaster, Pollution and Profit (released July, 2010) is their chart that depicts the top ten US states for pipeline accidents, 2000-2009.

While it’s natural to think that Texas—often synonymous with big oil—tops the chart (it does) for “significant incidents”, what’s more surprising are the states with the most fatalities associated with pipeline accidents.

Here’s the list of 2000-2009 Onshore Pipeline Accidents, sorted by “Significant Incidents”—apparently defined as those  where injury or fatality occurred or property damage was greater than or equal to $50,000 in 1984 dollars:

Texas                     523

Louisiana               223

California               177

Kansas                   117

Illinois                    115

Pennsylvania         114

Oklahoma              113

Ohio                       74

Michigan                 61

New Mexico            58

Now, if you resort the same list and look at fatalities, here’s what you’ll find:

Texas                     15

New Mexico           15

Pennsylvania         10

California                9

Louisiana                6

Ohio                       6

Michigan                 5

Kansas                   3

Oklahoma               3

Illinois                     2

For the record, if you look at total US—i.e., not just the top ten states listed above–Onshore significant incidents, the numbers go like this: 2,554 significant incidents, 161 fatalities, and 576 injuries.

If you want to add in total US Offshore incidents from 2001-2007—so remember, this data predates the BP oil spill, there were 1,443 incidents resulting in 41 fatalites, 302 injuries, 476 fires, nd 356 pollution events.

Tags: BP, BP Oil Spill
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Results are in – 60% Say BP won’t Survive the Spill

August 9th, 2010. By AbiK

We’ve had a poll here on the LawyersAndSettlements.com blog since just after the BP Oil Spill occurred. The question was a simple yes or no:

Will BP Survive the Gulf Oil Disaster?

Just took the poll down and the final results were a pretty straight 60/40 split—60% of you think that BP will not be able to come out of the aftermath of the BP oil spill alive; 40% of you think they will.

Of course, it’s a PR game at play as well and an interesting thing has happened over the time that the poll was live. In the initial week or two of the poll, 70% of you felt BP would not survive this mess. Then, little by little, I watched the numbers start to head more in the direction that BP just may come out of this with a future.

Perhaps it speaks to the containment (?) of the spill. Perhaps it has to do with BP coughing up the $20 billion fund for claims. Or that BP finally ousted its CEO. Who knows? And of course, only time will tell what will ultimately become of BP…

For the latest figures on the BP spill, check out Update: BP Oil Spill by the Numbers.

Tags: BP, BP Oil Spill
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Update: BP Oil Spill by the Numbers

August 3rd, 2010. By AbiK

A quick down and dirty look at the current numbers related to the BP Oil Spill…

11 families whose lives were forever changed as they lost loved ones aboard the Deepwater Horizon

102 days since BP oil spill disaster

120 people who’ve gone to the E.R. , a clinic or urgent care center in AL complaining of ailments related to the spill, since May 14th (al.com)

300 federal lawsuits filed–so far–in 12 states, against BP, Transocean Ltd, Halliburton Co., and Cameron International (AP)

800 skimming boats BP currently has working on the spill (miamiherald.com)

1,443 total industry offshore incidents between 2001 – 2007, causing 41 fatalities, 302 injuries, 476 fires, 356 releases of pollution (National Wildlife Federation (NWF) Report, Assault on America, 2010)

24,800 workers BP currently has working on the spill (miamiherald.com)

$7,300,000 spent on lobbying by the American Petroleum Institute (trade association representing oil and gas industries) (NWF)

$13,900,000 direct political contributions by oil and gas industry to member of Congress, year-to-date this year (NWF)

$500,000,000 amount of settlement payout to fisherman and residents who were victims of the Exxon Valdez disaster–for comparison (AP)

$2,000,000,000 estimated amount BP will spend to defend itself against lawsuits (AP)

$20,000,000,000 fund set up by BP to settle victims’ claims

Tags: BP, BP Oil Spill. NSL
Posted in Emerging Issues, Environment | 2 Comments »

What Good is BP Lifeline if it Doesn’t Rescue Victims?

July 29th, 2010. By AbiK

Here’s the situation—really a Catch-22. You’re stranded at sea, and a seemingly kind soul passes by on a boat, with a life buoy—you know, the type lifeguards use with that long rope. The kind soul tosses it out to you, reaching just beyond your shoulder like he’s been taught to do—and your countenance immediately turns from one of panic to one of relief…safe and secure that you’ll be able to remain afloat for a while and, although exhausted, enjoy the tow in toward the boat.

Ahhh…but funny thing happened on the way to the boat! The kind soul sort of, uh, dropped his end of the lifeline. Whoops! And guess what? Since you grabbed the line, you don’t have any other options for being saved other than saying some prayers.

Enter the current hell that BP oil spill victims are living right now. They can see that seemingly kind soul with the life buoy in hand (i.e., BP & Feinberg), but there’s also a ship way off on the horizon that may take days to get to them (i.e., litigation) and, if they turn toward litigation, Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: BP, BP Lawsuit, BP Oil Spill, Feinberg
Posted in Emerging Issues, Environment | No Comments »

With Focus on BP, Don’t Lose Sight of Fracking Issues

July 12th, 2010. By AbiK

I’m sure you’ve been hearing about the new oil well cap that’s—possibly—going on the BP well today in the Gulf. It’s been top news all weekend—that, and of course Spain and Lance Armstrong. But crawling around in the background has been a little news story that you most likely missed. About another fossil fuel: natural gas. About Fracking. And, about cattle.

Yes, cattle.

First, some background. I’ve been posting about hydraulic fracturing (aka “fracking“) in the Marcellus Shale region of Pennsylvania, New York and West Virginia and how not everyone is thrilled that they’re living on top of a veritable gold mine of natural gas. Most of those who oppose fracking are concerned about the possibility of contamination of underground sources of drinking water (usdw). The idea behind fracking is that once a well is drilled into reservoir rock, a mixture of water and high viscosity fluid additives (i.e., chemicals) is injected into the rock to force the rock to fracture. A propping agent, like sand, is then pumped into the fractures to keep them open. The fractures then allow the natural gas to flow more freely to the production well that can then bring the gas to the surface.

Sounds simple enough. But then, what about those fractures? The process Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: fracking, gas drilling, hydraulic fracking, hydraulic fracturing, hydraulic-fracturing-water-contamination-epa-fracking-hydrofracking, natural gas
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