(Rep. Henry) Waxman: BP Knew of Safety Failure before Blast

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Source: CBS News/AP

Blowout Preventer Had Hydraulic Leak before Explosion that Led to Massive Spill, Congressional Probe Shows


(CBS/AP) A congressional investigation into the Gulf oil spill revealed that a key safety device, the blowout preventer, had a leak in a crucial hydraulic system, according to Rep. Henry Waxman.

He cited BP documents received by the Energy and Commerce Committee that showed there was a breach in the well integrity that allowed methane gas and possibly other hydrocarbons to enter the well.

Waxman, D-Calif., said at a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing Wednesday that the investigation also discovered that the well had failed a negative pressure test just hours before the April 20 explosion.

Rep. Henry Waxman says BP officials provided conflicting accounts of what happened after the failed test.

Waxman said that a BP senior executive told the committee that the well didn't pass the test around 5 p.m. on the day of the explosion. Waxman said results of a second test were unsatisfactory.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/05/12/national/main6476337.shtml