BP investigation into explosion emphasizes ‘shared responsibility’ and technical fixes

Today BP released findings from its four-month internal investigation into the cause of the April explosion in the Gulf of Mexico that killed 11 workers and led to the worst oil disaster in US history.

The 193-page report, posted on the company's website, finds failings in the work performed on the well leading up to the disaster; it says BP engineers and Transocean rig workers misinterpreted pressure tests; and that the blow out preventer, designed to avert such an accident, failed to operate correctly. BP declined FSRN’s requests for an interview. To find out more, we're joined by Kieran Suckling, the executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental advocacy group that has been critical of the BP response to the disaster.

In related news, a federal study released Tuesday found that oxygen levels in the ocean near the damaged well had dropped by 20 percent, but that the levels weren't low enough to create dead zones. The Houston Chronicle reports that the study drew on 419 locations in the Gulf over three months. Scientists had warned that the extensive use of underwater dispersants could lead to lower oxygen levels which could kill fish and other organisms.

To view the BP report: http://www.bp.com/sectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9034902&contentId=...