incompetent management dismissed north sea worker’s safety concerns, caused massive gas leak

click on image to see article, from inhabitant

Workers on French energy company Total’s North Sea Elgin platform repeatedly raised safety concerns about rising gas pressure but were told a leak “could not happen” only hours before one took place, a trade union leader said on Friday.

“The workforce had raised their concerns to the Offshore Installation Manager who in turn consulted with onshore technical authorities at Total…they were repeatedly told that a failure in Annulus C (the pipe casing) could not happen…and even if it did, a design feature would prevent a gas leak,” Jake Molloy said.

“Several discussions between workers and Total technical authorities happened throughout the preceding weeks, up to and including a few hours before the event,” said Molloy, the head of the RMT union’s section that represents offshore oil and gas workers, referring to the leak that led to a total evacuation of the rig.

A spokeswoman at Total in Aberdeen said she could not immediately comment on the matter.

via Total ruled out gas leak hours before incident-union | Reuters.

more, from inhabitant -

Shortly after the leak was discovered on Sunday, the Elgin PUQ (Process, Utility and Quarters) platform shut down operations to reduce the chances of the gas igniting. A six mile long sheen of two to 23 tonnes of gas condensate has been discovered as the leak creates a massive cloud of gas. The condensate is a natural gas byproduct of the drilling process and the UK’s Energy Ministry has stated that the ecological impact is far lower than that of an oil leak, while Total has said that it is likely the gas condensate will simply evaporate in the coming weeks. Safety concerns at present center around the flammability of the gas should it reach other North Sea platforms and ignite, which could causecatastrophic devastation.

The BBC has reported that while Elgin PUQ is not a deepwater rig, it does drill to unusual depths in the sea bed. Dr. Simon Boxall, an oceanographer at Southampton University told the BBC that “the gas [Total] is bringing up is what we call sour gas, that gas has a high proportion of hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide and that makes it very flammable and quite poisonous. So the big problem they have got is dealing with a very combustible gas – unlike Deepwater Horizon where we were dealing with crude oil which ironically is very difficult to light sometimes.”

Read more: North Sea Platforms Evacuated as Underwater Gas Leak is Reported Near Scotland | Inhabitat – Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building

Clashes as Palestinians mark Land Day

Thousands of Palestinian demonstrators clashed with Israeli troops at Qalandia checkpoint in the West Bank on Friday as hundreds more gathered by Jerusalem’s Old City to mark Land Day. Palestinian youths hurled rocks and set tyres alight, as Israeli troops fired a barrage of tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades to break up the protest.

murdered by police for sleeping at home while black

As the Trayvon Martin case draws national attention, we look at another fatal shooting of an African-American male that has received far less scrutiny. Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr., a 68-year-old African-American Marine veteran, was fatally shot in November by White Plains, NY, police who responded to a false alarm from his medical alert pendant. The officers broke down Chamberlain’s door, tasered him, and then shot him dead. Audio of the entire incident was recorded by the medical alert device in Chamberlain’s apartment. We’re joined by family attorneys and Chamberlain’s son, Kenneth Chamberlain, Jr., who struggles through tears to recount his father’s final moments, including the way police officers mocked his father’s past as a marine. “For them to look at my father that way, (with) no regard for his life, every morning I think about it,” he says.

see the rest of the story, from democracy now:

Killed at Home: White Plains, NY Police Called Out on Medical Alert Shoot Dead Black Veteran, 68

Schools Across the US Conducting “Relocation” Terror Drills

(CAUTION – THE VIDEO FEATURES AN ANNOYING, LOUD SIREN SO YOU MIGHT WANT TO TURN THE VOLUME DOWN)

During the drill, some students and school staff were instructed to pretend to be injured.

“As part of the drill, we will pretend that some students and staff are injured. Pretend victims will be assessed and transported to nearby triage centers. Please be aware that Hall Road and Van Horn Road may be closed to traffic for all or part of this drill. There will be a number of emergency vehicles at PHMS and Erving Elementary School during the drill. Your cooperation is necessary for this practice drill to be successful. During drills and emergencies like the one we are planning:
• Please do not telephone the school. Telephone lines are needed for drill emergency communications.
• Impress upon your children the need to follow directions and take drills seriously.
• During an evacuation drill or a real emergency, students will be kept at their school or will be evacuated to another site. They will be released only to adults listed on their emergency contact form. Any adult picking up a student (reunification) will be required to show picture identification.
• Students and parents should not communicate by cell phones during the drill or emergency situation. Students need to be attentive to the instructions from school and safety personnel.”

It is also important to keep in mind that much of the time these drills are not the fault of local school administrators. Often, these drills are being mandated at the state level. Our politicians have become obsessed with “school safety” in recent years, and apparently their idea of “school safety” involves deeply traumatizing our kids.

from pakalert press, Kids All Over America Are Being Put On Buses And Sent To Alternate Locations During School Terror Drills