Disasters

"The presidential commission appointed to study the causes of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill and to recommend improvements for offshore drilling has navigated tight spots as it prepares to begin work this week."

"BP crews made progress Sunday in their attempt to place a new sealing device atop the blown-out well shooting oil into the Gulf of Mexico, company Vice President Kent Wells said."
 

"With a weeklong window of favorable weather opening in the Gulf of Mexico, the Obama administration is pressing BP to move quickly on two operations that could double the amount of oil  captured from the gushing well."

"A federal appeals court on Thursday turned down the Obama administration’s effort to enforce a six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico."

"Transocean  is the world’s largest offshore drilling company, but until its Deepwater Horizon rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in April, few Americans outside the energy business had heard of it. It is well known, however, in a number of other countries — for testing local laws and regulations."

"New Orleans, which managed to escape the oil from the BP spill for more than two months, can't hide any longer. For the first time since the accident, oil from the ruptured well is seeping into Lake Pontchartrain."

"Oily beaches and lost livelihoods are the visible effects of the massive well leaking into the Gulf Coast. But consequences that are harder to spot are starting to get more attention now, like the need for mental health care."

"Waste Management on Wednesday began dumping oil-coated materials from Mississippi coast beaches into the Pecan Grove landfill, which it is permitted to do, but which is an activity local officials are against."

Workers on the massive project to clean oil from Prince William sound after the Exxon Valdez spill two decades ago are struggling with severe health problems. CNN investigates whether Gulf oil spill cleanup workers face the same fate.

"HOUSTON — To hear the people at Baker Hughes tell it, a drill string — length after length of narrow pipe that can extend for miles into the earth — is far from a rigid assembly of high-strength steel. It is more like a wet noodle."