[h=1]Mysterious Death Reveals Risk In Federal Oil Field Rules[/h]
March 30, 20165:28 AM ET
Heard on
Morning Edition
Emily Guerin
On a cold night in January 2012, Dustin Bergsing climbed on top of a crude oil storage tank in North Dakota's Bakken oil field. His job was to open the hatch on top and drop a rope inside to measure the level of oil. But just after midnight, a co-worker found him dead, slumped next to the open hatch.
Even though an autopsy showed Bergsing had hydrocarbons in his blood ? things like benzene and butane ? the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration's investigation found no safety violations. And it didn't fine the oil company.
...
The Bureau of Land Management is in charge of oil development on federal land, and critics say the agency is wary of technology that might not be as accurate as putting guys on top of tanks to measure oil by hand. There's public money at stake ? royalties that are paid by the oil companies on the exact amount of oil coming out of the ground.
"If it's a public asset, then the taxpayer deserves to have their money, their assets protected," says Steve Wells, who oversees oil production for the agency...
That's needless, nonsensical exposure, says Dennis Schmitz, an oil and gas safety trainer.
Automatic measurement is common in Canada and in the offshore oil and gas industry, which isn't regulated by the Bureau of Land Management. In fact, Schmitz used such equipment on tanker ships.
"And I never really questioned, 'Why is it in the offshore environment that I don't breathe the vapors there, and I do breathe them here?' " he says.,,
