Pillar to Post: Peter Welander's Blog 
Recent Posts
- Who's searching on "engineer?"
- Back to ExxonMobil and the skills gap
- Blackout plus five: Any improvements?
- Driving is down, biking is up
- Corn for ethanol sets record in 2008
- ExxonMobil helping plug skills gap
- EPA: Ethanol to stay
- Why drill for oil domestically?
- Reducing energy use, the hard way
- Gasoline stabilizes, now what?
Recent Comments
- Nancy McIntyre on ExxonMobil helping plug skills gap
- EPA: Ethanol to stay on EPA: Ethanol to stay
- MWegenka on Reducing energy use, the hard way
- Kirslis on Making gasoline out of coal
- John Rezabek on 3.6 billion gallons per day
Most Commented On
- Chinese pharma plants go un-inspected? (2)
- I am not a socialist (2)
- EPA: Ethanol to stay (1)
- ExxonMobil helping plug skills gap (1)
- Reducing energy use, the hard way (1)
Archives
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
Blog
Link This | Email this | Blog This | Comments (0)
BP and Texas City: Plea deal too easy?
A congressional committee is looking into the wisdom of the U.S. Justice Department offering a plea deal to BP over the Texas City refinery explosion of 2005. Reported in an AP story, the agency is suggesting a fine of $50 million for criminal responsibility against a BP subsidiary in the explosion that left 15 dead and 170 injured. The committee has written a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey questioning the agreement for a number of reasons, some related to the idea that it was BP's poor management and cost cutting measures that made the plant vulnerable to such a disaster. (Read an earlier posting on this topic.)
Ultimately, the question is, does this settlement send a message to BP that will cause the company to change its behavior? The families of victims and survivors don't think so, and claim that they must be consulted before the deal is closed. The congressional committee seems to share that opinion, and is giving the Justice Department 10 days to defend its actions and explain what it was thinking.
This discussion took me back to a comment that Margaret Walker from Dow Chemical made in a presentation at the ARC meeting last month in Orlando. She said, "There are few things more motivating to an employee than knowing the employer is making sure everything possible is being done so that they go home safely and that everyone around them is safe.”
Is there a fine large enough to make a company like BP treat its people with the same concern as Dow? Will BP's employees ever feel that way about the company management? Are there any BP employees out there with a thought to offer?
BP and Texas City: Plea deal too easy?
March 14, 2008
A congressional committee is looking into the wisdom of the U.S. Justice Department offering a plea deal to BP over the Texas City refinery explosion of 2005. Reported in an AP story, the agency is suggesting a fine of $50 million for criminal responsibility against a BP subsidiary in the explosion that left 15 dead and 170 injured. The committee has written a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey questioning the agreement for a number of reasons, some related to the idea that it was BP's poor management and cost cutting measures that made the plant vulnerable to such a disaster. (Read an earlier posting on this topic.)Ultimately, the question is, does this settlement send a message to BP that will cause the company to change its behavior? The families of victims and survivors don't think so, and claim that they must be consulted before the deal is closed. The congressional committee seems to share that opinion, and is giving the Justice Department 10 days to defend its actions and explain what it was thinking.
This discussion took me back to a comment that Margaret Walker from Dow Chemical made in a presentation at the ARC meeting last month in Orlando. She said, "There are few things more motivating to an employee than knowing the employer is making sure everything possible is being done so that they go home safely and that everyone around them is safe.”
Is there a fine large enough to make a company like BP treat its people with the same concern as Dow? Will BP's employees ever feel that way about the company management? Are there any BP employees out there with a thought to offer?
Posted by Peter Welander on March 14, 2008 | Comments (0)
Industries: Process Control
Advertisement
Advertisements
