(no subject)

[hnpcc]

So between the safety alarms to detect dangerous gas build ups being routinely disabled on the Deepwater Horizon rig and the safety alarms to detect methane build up being routinely disabled in the Virgina mine where the explosion occurred last year I'm wondering if any safety standards at all get enforced in US workplaces.

Oh and I'm really hoping both the US government goes after the companies in a major way, and that the families of the dead and injured sue them. Seriously, that is incredibly bad.

Mostly though I'm hoping that the US government beefs up the standards and inspection requirements and starts cracking down on violations. I can't see that anything will change otherwise.

Comments

[dalmeny]

In some countries, the government is expected to have a strong inspectorate to catch safety violations. In others, it's left to those injured to sue.

Yesterday, I was reading an old New Scientist published just after the explosion which expressed bewilderment about why such a reliable piece of safety equipment could have failed. Like Chernobyl - safety systems don't work if you switch them off.

[hnpcc]

It's also a nice cop-out for the management of the mine who can then claim that the workers put themselves at risk by turning it off.

But if you're 21 and your supervisor tells you to turn it off routinely, are you really going to argue? Given the 10% official unemployment rate in the US at the moment, even if you're experienced are you really going to argue?

And of course the dead can't sue, even if their families can.

I think this is why it's necessary to have a strong inspectorate (love that word), even if large parts of the US would disagree with me.

[sand-l.livejournal.com]

"Mostly though I'm hoping that the US government beefs up the standards and inspection requirements and starts cracking down on violations. I can't see that anything will change otherwise."

Exactly so...the world, not just the US needs to take note...