May 3, 2011 - BP To Pay $25 Million in Penalties
BP and the US government have reached an agreement to resolve issues that arose following a BP pipeline oil spill in 2006 in Alaska’s North Slope. The agreement calls for BP to pay the US $25 million dollars and marks the start of corrective measures “including replacement of the Prudhoe Bay oil transit lines, improved leak detection on the oil transit lines, and improved operation and maintenance of the Pipeline System.”
The settlement also involved another issue that arose when BP removed harmful asbestos containing materials from its pipe line around the same time as the oil spill. The improper removal of the asbestos materials violated the Federal Clean Air Act. Asbestos was found in the mastic that was used to hold insulation material onto the western section of the 22-mile BP Alaskan pipeline.
Prudhoe Bay is the nation’s largest field, producing anywhere from 400,000 to just under 700,000 barrels of oil a day. Prudhoe Bay is jointly owned by BP, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil, and two other smaller shareholders, Unocal and Koch. BP, holding 47%, is the largest owner and operator of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, which runs from Prudhoe Bay to the tanker port of Valdez.
In August of 2006, BP workers began removing pipe insulation that was held on with asbestos containing adhesive in order to investigate levels of corrosion to the pipeline. BP had recruited extra workers to strip the insulation and inspect the pipe, putting even more than the regular employees at risk of exposure.
Once it was discovered by government pipeline regulators that the adhesive contained asbestos, workers were required to go through special asbestos abatement training.
How many workers might have been exposed before this happens is unknown, and will remain so for years. Exposure to asbestos causes serious and fatal illness, such as mesothelioma and asbestosis, to develop decades later. The latency period between initial exposure and development of symptoms of mesothelioma can be more than fifty. Workers exposed in 2006 are encouraged to let their physicians know their work history and to undergo regular check-ups.
Anyone who has a history of working on the pipelines, especially removing asbestos containing insulation, with a diagnosis of mesothelioma should call an attorney who specializes in handling asbestos lawsuits to find out what their legal rights are and to get help paying for medical treatment.
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