Safety Board Starts BP Spill Probe

 Now that oil is no longer spilling into the gulf, it's time to delve into the broader issues, such as safety and regulations. According to this article in the Houston Chronicle, investigators from the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board start their investigation of the Deepwater Horizon accident. It is essential that safety is assured for future platforms if off-shore drilling is to continue.
   . . . June

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Safety board ventures offshore for BP spill probe
Energy | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: 

As emergency crews responded to the fire on a Mariner Energy platform Thursday, investigators from the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board stood on the deck of a drilling rig 200 miles to the east, starting their investigation of the Deepwater Horizon accident.

Investigators with the federal agency, better known for looking at the causes of accidents at chemical plants and refineries, will be based in Texas for the next month, looking into the April 20 drilling rig blowout that killed 11 and spilled almost 5 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

Earlier this week the team attended an offshore safety conference at Texas A&M University and on Thursday flew out to Transocean's Development Driller III, the rig drilling the relief well that soon should intercept BP's Macondo well and seal it for good.

No oil has spilled from the well since workers put a cap on the wellhead July 15.

Don Holmstrom, CSB's lead investigator, said his team isn't looking at emergency response issues or spill cleanup, but causes behind the blowout itself.

This includes meeting with the internal investigation teams from BP, which held the federal lease where the well was drilled; Transocean, which owned and operated the rig; and other companies involved, looking at documents filed in ongoing investigations and interviewing witnesses.

"We will also be looking at broader issues like regulatory enforcement safety metrics, the focus on preventing catastrophic accidents versus focusing on issues such as personal safety, and BP's safety culture," Holmstrom said.

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