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BP tried to control independent study on Gulf spill
photo by kris krüg (kk+ on Flickr CC)
Documents accessed under the Freedom of Information Act show BP attempting to influence independent research into the effects of the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Environmental activist group Greenpeace got a hold of incriminating emails and passed them on to the Guardian.
Those concerns go far beyond academic interest into the impact of the spill. BP faces billions in fines and penalties, and possible criminal charges arising from the disaster. Its total liability will depend in part on a final account produced by scientists on how much oil entered the gulf from its blown-out well, and the damage done to marine life and coastal areas in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The oil company disputes the government estimate that 4.1m barrels of oil entered the gulf.
Not a big surprise, really. After all, the White House disagreed with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) about how much oil had been cleaned up last summer. With that kind of support of course BP is going to feel emboldened to skew any findings concerning the impact of the spill.
Read more in the Guardian.
Also check out this slideshow of the BP oil spill in the Telegraph and this ITN video report of an anti BP protest in London by activists joined by victims of the spill.
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