"Experts Fear Another Oil Disaster"

"NEW ORLEANS -- With everything Big Oil and the government have learned in the year since the Gulf of Mexico disaster, could it happen again? Absolutely, according to an Associated Press examination of the industry and interviews with experts on the perils of deep-sea drilling.

The government has given the OK for oil exploration in treacherously deep waters to resume, saying it is confident such drilling can be done safely. The industry has given similar assurances. But there are still serious questions in some quarters about whether the lessons of the BP oil spill have been applied.

The industry 'is ill-prepared at the least,' said Charles Perrow, a Yale University professor specializing in accidents involving high-risk technologies. 'I have seen no evidence that they have marshaled containment efforts that are sufficient to deal with another major spill. I don't think they have found ways to change the corporate culture sufficiently to prevent future accidents.'"

Harry R. Weber and Holbrook Mohr report for the Associated Press April 14, 2011.

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"Gulf Seafood Deemed Safe But Still Under Scrutiny" (NPR)