Disasters

"The U.S. Interior Department issued its first shallow-water drilling permit since offshore exploration companies were required to meet two sets of new safety regulations in response to the BP oil spill, a department official said on Monday."

"The Bush administration focused from its earliest days on ramping up domestic oil and gas production, charged House Democrats, but at the same time allowed the industry a 'dangerous culture of permissiveness' that culminated in the April 20 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico."

"China's largest reported oil spill more than doubled in size to 165 sq. miles (430 sq. kilometers) by Wednesday, forcing nearby beaches to close and prompting one official to warn of a 'severe threat' to sea life and water quality."

"None of the five witnesses called to testify will appear at Wednesday’s hearing of the U.S. Coast Guard-Interior Department probe into what caused the Deepwater Horizon oil rig to explode."

"The EPA says some communities in Louisiana face a 'moderate health risk' due to hydrocarbon fumes from the Gulf oil spill. Researchers will report air quality findings this week."

"A top BP official aboard the oil rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in April was expected to refuse to speak at a federal hearing Tuesday."

"The Obama administration has released a new analysis of chemical monitoring performed by BP PLC in order to tamp down concerns that offshore responders battling the oil giant's Gulf of Mexico gusher have been exposed to a chemical linked to lingering health problems among cleanup workers long after the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill."

"The Obama administration has asked the governments of Scotland and Britain to review the decision last summer to release the Libyan convicted in the Lockerbie airliner bombing." Four U.S. Senators have asked whether BP lobbied for the release in order to get Libyan oil and gas leases.

"Oil from BP's blown out well is again seeping into the Gulf of Mexico, but this time, more slowly and scientists aren't convinced the cap that stopped the flow last week is making things worse."

"Dozens of endangered sea turtle eggs have been moved to Florida's Atlantic coast to protect them from the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said on Friday."