BP to Shutter the Safety Watchdog, Despite Rise in Employee Concerns

source http://www.propublica.org/blog/item/bp-to-shutter-the-safety-watchdog-despite-rise-in-employee-concerns

BP plans to close the independent watchdog office it established after a deadly refinery blast in Texas City that killed 15 workers, according to The Guardian. Despite a growing number of safety concerns reported to the ombudsman's office by BP employees and contractors, the company told the U.K. newspaper that it would not extend the office's tenure past June of next year.

Here's the Guardian, on the uptick in the reporting of employee concerns since the office was established in 2006:

According to the internal figures, the number of concerns received by the ombudsman's office increased almost fourfold between its inception and last year. Last year alone, the figure was up by two-thirds on 2008. Of the 252 known concerns received in total since 2006, 148 relate to BP's Alaska operations. These include 50 specific safety-related concerns at the North Slope operations.

rest at http://www.propublica.org/blog/item/bp-to-shutter-the-safety-watchdog-despite-rise-in-employee-concerns