Some say that workplace safety awards promote complacency. (Photo courtesy of the NIEHS/DOE)
The companies associated with the two biggest accidents this year both recently got safety awards from the government. Lester Graham reports.
Transcript
The companies associated with the two biggest accidents this year both recently got safety awards from the government. Lester Graham reports.
The Mineral Management Service announced BP was a finalist for a safety award in May. Then, the Deepwater Horizon exploded, killed eleven men, and spilled –who knows how much– oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
The Mine Safety and Health Administration gave the coal company Massey Energy three safety awards last year. Then the Upper Big Branch Mine exploded. 29 miners died.
In an opinion piece in The Hill , The President of the Steelworkers union, Leo Gerard, argued those awards promote complacency– a sort of ‘see we’re already doing it.’
David Uhlmann is a law professor at the University of Michigan. He served for seven years as Chief of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section. He says awards can prod companies to do better… but…
“There’s always going to be some companies who cut corners, who put profits before safety, who put profits before their obligations to protect the environment.”
BP was to get its award in May. The safety awards ceremonies were postponed.
For The Environment Report, I’m Lester Graham.