4 problems with oil shutoff device

Bad wiring and a leak in what’s supposed to be a “blowout preventer.” Sealing problems that may have allowed a methane eruption. Even a dead battery, of all things.

New disclosures Wednesday at a House hearing revealed a complicated cascade of deepsea equipment failures and procedural problems in the oil rig explosion and massive spill that is still fouling the Gulf of Mexico.

The disclosures were described in internal corporate documents, marked confidential but provided to a House subcommittee by BP PLC, the well’s operator, and by the manufacturer of the safety device. Congressional investigators released them.

MSNBC