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A new report by environmental watchdog group, Earthworks, highlights the public health risks of fracking in Eagle Ford Shale, dangerous risks overshadowed by the lucrative oil and gas drilling. The startling report, Reckless Endangerment While Fracking the Eagle Ford, also exposes a “toxic mix of irresponsible industry operators and negligent…
Unsafe welding caused a 2012 deadly oil platform explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, according to a report released by Texas-based Black Elk Energy Offshore Operations, LLC. The November 16 Gulf explosion and fire, occurring on an oil production platform operated by Black Elk Energy off of the Grand Isle, Louisiana…
Three contract workers were injured in an East Texas oilfield explosion Saturday, August 10, 2013. The blast, occurring at an oilfield site in Gregg County, Texas is believed to have been caused by welding on a pipe thought to be clear of hydrocarbons. The injured workers, contracted by Exxon-Mobil, included…
Five workers were injured in an oil rig accident near Alexander, North Dakota on July 16, 2013. According to news reports, investigators believe the oil rig accident occurred when employees removed a cover from an oil fuel tank and an electric drill ignited the fumes, causing an explosion. One worker,…
Local residents in Frio County, Texas have expressed concerns about the possibility of Eagle Ford disposal wells contaminating their groundwater, so much so that Frio County Commissioners recently held a town hall meeting in Dilley to discuss the injection wells. The main issue, residents said, was awareness. With only a…
A July 7, 2013, explosion at a natural gas well fracking site in West Virginia injured several workers, including five contract workers who suffered serious burn injuries and remain hospitalized. Only months before, an explosion at another WV natural gas facility injured three workers, two of whom died from their…
The Texas Department of Public Safety’s removal of nearly two thousand unsafe commercial vehicles from our roadways last month during a three-day annual inspection highlights an alarming fact – there are a LOT of unsafe 18 wheelers, buses and other commercial motor vehicles (CMV) traveling Texas roads. Before Roadcheck 2013…
Two more oilfield workers were killed on the job in Texas last week, both in Howard County and residents of Big Spring. On Thursday, June 20, Juan Manual Estrada-Duarte, 59, died after a large heat treat rolled onto him. Only 24 hours earlier a drilling rig collapse had taken the…
Concerns about abandoned oil wells contaminating groundwater in Texas are not new, but a boom in oil and gas drilling and increased use of the hydraulic fracturing process have raised the odds of contamination occurring. In addition to groundwater contamination, abandoned wells can provide a pathway for dangerous contaminates to…
Insurance coverage is supposed to provide the policyholder with a feeling of safety and security. People buy insurance for protection against risk that could otherwise be financially devastating. And we expect that the insurance company will hold up its end of the bargain when catastrophe happens and a claim must be…
