State-Corporate Environmental Cover-Up: The Response to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill

Bradshaw, Elizabeth A.

doi:10.13169/statecrime.3.2.0163

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State Crime Journal

Volume 3, Issue 2

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State-Corporate Environmental Cover-Up: The Response to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill

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Author(s): Elizabeth A. Bradshaw ¹

Publication date (Print, pub): 1 October 2014

Journal: State Crime Journal

Publisher: Pluto Journals

Keywords: state-corporate environmental crime, BP, Gulf of Mexico oil spill, chemical dispersants, media blackout

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Abstract

Developing the concept of state-corporate environmental crime, this article examines the government and corporate response to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. US federal responders functioned in coordination with BP and an extensive array of privately contracted oil spill response organizations to systematically conceal the environmental damage caused by the spill through various means. State-corporate responders applied unprecedented amounts of toxic chemical dispersants in an effort to hide the oil, blocked public and media access to response operations, and relied upon a network of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies alongside private security firms to enforce the ban. In combination, these efforts constitute a state-corporate cover-up of environmental crimes in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

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Journal

Journal ID (doi): 10.13169

Journal ID (publisher-id): statecrime

Title: State Crime Journal

Publisher: Pluto Journals

ISSN (Print): 20466056

ISSN (Electronic): 20466064

Publication date (Print, pub): 1 October 2014

Volume: 3

Issue: 2

Pages: 163-181

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[1 ] Central Michigan University;

Article

Publisher ID: statecrime.3.2.0163

DOI: 10.13169/statecrime.3.2.0163

SO-VID: 510df866-89d0-458e-9af6-f4bbcbf2f644

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All content is freely available without charge to users or their institutions. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission of the publisher or the author. Articles published in the journal are distributed under a http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

History

References

Aulette, J. and Michalowski, R. ( 1993) “Fire in Hamlet: A Case Study of State-Corporate Crime”, in K. Tunnell, ed., Political Crime in Contemporary America: A Critical Approach . New York: Garland Publishing, pp. 171– 206.
Ball, J. ( 2010) “Congress Questions Oil-Dispersant Usage”, The Wall Street Journal , 1 August. Available online at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703787904575403393553353172.html.
Clifford, M. and Edwards, T. ( 1998) “Defining ‘Environmental Crime’”, in M. Clifford, ed., Environmental Crime: Enforcement, Policy, and Social Responsibility . Gaithersburg: Aspen Publishers, Inc.
Cruciotti, T. and Matthews, R. ( 2006) “The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill”, in R. Michalowski and R. Kramer, eds, State-Corporate Crime: Wrongdoing at the Intersection of Business & Government . New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, pp. 149– 171.
DuBois, S. ( 2010) “Who is Nalco?” CNNMoney , 15 June. Available online at http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/14/news/companies/nalco_macondo_bp_spill.fortune/index.htm.
Earth Justice ( 2011) “The Chaos of Clean-up: Analysis of Potential Health and Environmental Impacts of Chemicals in Dispersant Products”. Available online at http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/Oil_Dispersants_Report.pdf.
Edwards, D. ( 2010a). “After Blocking CBS Crew, Coast Guard Denies ‘BP Rules’”, The Raw Story , 20 May. Available online at http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/05/20/coast-guard-bps-rules/.
Edwards, D. ( 2010b) “Expert Suggests BP Is Hiding Oiled Animal Carcasses”, The Raw Story , 15 June. Available online at http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/06/15/expert-suggests-bp-hiding-oiled-animal-carcasses/.
Engelberg, S. ( 2010) “Photographer Briefly Detained by Police Near BP's Texas City Refinery”, ProPublica , 2 July. Available online at http://www.propublica.org/article/photographer-detained-briefly-by-bp-and-local-police.
Esman, M.R. ( 2010) “Open Letter Concerning Media and Public Access to BP Oil Spill”, American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana , 28 June. Available online at http://www.laaclu.org/PDF_documents/Media_Public_Access_Oil_Spill_Letter_062810.pdf.
Gibbs, C., Gore, M., McGarrell, E. and Rivers, L., III ( 2010) “Introducing Conservation Criminology: Towards Interdisciplinary Scholarship on Environmental Crimes and Risks”, British Journal of Criminology 50( 1): 124– 144.
Jackson, L.P. ( 2010) “Letter from Lisa P. Jackson, EPA Administrator, to David Rainey, V.P. of Gulf of Mexico Exploration, BP Exploration and Production”. 26 May. Available online at http://www.epa.gov/bpspill/dispersants/Rainey-letter-052610.pdf.
Jamail, D. ( 2011) “No End in Sight for Oil in the Gulf of Mexico”, Al Jazeera , 13 September. Available online at http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2011/09/2011912175412109550.html.
Kauzlarich, D. and Kramer, R. ( 1998) Crimes of the America Nuclear State: At Home and Abroad . Boston: Northeastern University Press.
Kramer, R. ( 1992) “The Space Shuttle Challenger Explosion: A Case Study of State-Corporate Crime”, in K. Schlegel and D. Weisburd, eds, White-Collar Crime Reconsidered . Boston: Northwestern University Press, pp. 214– 243.
Kramer, R. and Michalowski, R. ( 2012) “Is Global Warming a State-Corporate Crime?” in R. White, ed., Climate Change, Crime and Criminology . New York: Springer.
Lynch, M. ( 1990) “The Greening of Criminology: A Perspective on the 1990s”, The Critical Criminologist 2( 3): 1– 5.
Lynch, M., Burns, R. and Stretesky, P. ( 2011) “Global Warming and State-Corporate Crime: The Politicization of Global Warming under the Bush Administration”, Crime, Law and Social Change 54( 3–4): 213– 239.
Lynch, M. and Stretesky, P. ( 2003) “The Meaning of Green: Contrasting Criminological Perspectives”, Theoretical Criminology 7( 2): 217– 238.
Lysiak, M. ( 2010) “Dying, Dead Marine Wildlife Paint Dear, Morbid Picture of Gulf Coast Following Oil Spill”, New York Daily News , 2 June. Available online at http://articles.nydailynews.com/2010–06–02/news/27066030_1_oil-spill-pelicans-dead-animals.
Markey, E. ( 2010) “Letter to the USCG Asking Why BP Had Been Exceeding the Dispersant Limits Set in the May 26 Directive”, 24 June. Available online at http://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/june-24–2010-markey-questions-why-bp-is-exceeding-dispersant-directives.
Matthews, R. and Kauzlarich, D. ( 2000) “The Crash of ValuJet Flight 592: A Case Study in State-Corporate Crime”, Sociological Focus 33( 3): 281– 298.
McClelland, M. ( 2010a) “‘It's BP's Oil”, Mother Jones , 24 May. Available online at http://motherjones.com/environment/2010/05/oil-spill-bp-grand-isle-beach.
McClelland, M. ( 2010b). “La. Police Doing BP's Dirty Work”, Mother Jones , 22 June. Available online at http://motherjones.com/rights-stuff/2010/06/BP-louisiana-police-stop-activist.
Michalowski, R. and Kramer, R., (eds) ( 2006) State-Corporate Crime: Wrongdoing at the Intersection of Business & Government . New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.
Mufson, S. and Achenbach, J. ( 2012) “Oil in New Gulf Slick Matches That of 2010 Spill”, The Washington Post , 10 October. Available online at http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/oil-in-new-gulf-slick-matches-that-of-2010-spill/2012/10/10/1f2b937c-1336–11e2-be82-c3411b7680a9_story.html.
Nalco ( 2010) “Corexit Ingredients”. Available online at http://www.nalcoesllc.com/nes/1602.htm.
On Wings of Care ( 2013) “Calm Seas but Troubled Waters”. 27 January. Available online at http://www.onwingsofcare.org/protection-a-preservation/gulf-of-mexico-oil-spill-2010/gulf-2013/359–20130127-calm-seas-troubled-waters.html.
Philips, M. ( 2010) “BP's Photo Blockade of the Gulf Oil Spill”, Newsweek , 26 May. Available online at http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/05/26/the-missing-oil-spill-photos.html.
Rawnsley, A. ( 2010) “BP Hires Mercs to Block Oily Beaches”, Wired , 15 June. Available online at http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/06/bp-hires-mercs-to-block-oily-beaches/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter#ixzz0qvQN3iIg.
Rosenfeld, L. ( 2010) “ProPublica Photographer: I Was Followed by BP Security and Then Detained by Police”, ProPublica , 7 July. Available online at http://www.propublica.org/article/photographer-tells-of-being-followed-by-bp-security-and-then-detained.
Scahill, J. ( 2010) “BP and US Government ‘Command Center’ Guarded by Company from Afghan Embassy Hazing Scandal”, The Nation , 28 May. Available online at http://www.thenation.com/blog/bp-and-us-government-command-center-guarded-company-afghan-embassy-hazing-scandal.
Schor, E. ( 2010) “Ingredients of Controversial Dispersant Used on Gulf Spill Are Secrets No More”, The New York Times , 9 June. Available online at http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/06/09/09greenwireingredients-of-controversial-dispersants-used-42891.html.
Smandych, R. and Kueneman, R. ( 2010) “The Canadian-Alberta Tar Sands: A Case Study of State-Corporate Environmental Crime”, in R. White, ed., Global Environmental Harm: Criminological Perspectives . Portland: Willan Publishing, pp. 87– 109.
Soraghan, M. ( 2010) “As Spill Drifts toward Gulf Shores, Oil Companies Brace for Political Whirlwind”. The New York Times , 29 April. Available online at http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/04/29/29greenwire-as-spill-drifts-toward-gulf-shores-oil-compani-89449.html.
South, N. ( 1998) “A Green Field for Criminology? A Proposal for a Perspective”, Theoretical Criminology 2( 2): 211– 233.
US Coast Guard ( 2010) “Report of Investigation into the Circumstances Surrounding the Explosion, Fire, Sinking and Loss of Eleven Crew Members Aboard the Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico April 20–22, 2010, Volume I”. Available online at http://www.scribd.com/doc/53653055/Report-of-Investigation-into-the-Circumstances-Surrounding-the-Explosion-Fire-Sinking-and-Loss-of-Eleven-Crew-Members-Aboard-the-MOBILE-OFFSHORE-DRI.
US Coast Guard ( 2011) “BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Incident Specific Preparedness Review, Final Report”. Available online at http://www.uscg.mil/foia/docs/DWH/BPDWH.pdf.
US Environmental Protection Agency ( 2010a) “Corexit EC9500A, NCP Product Schedule”. Available online at http://www.epa.gov/oem/content/ncp/products/corex950.htm.
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US National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling ( 2010) “Staff Working Paper No. 4: The Use of Surface and Subsea Dispersants during the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill” (Released 6 October 2010; Updated 11 January 2011). Available online at https://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=16795.
US National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling ( 2011) “Deep Water: The Gulf Oil Disaster and the Future of Offshore Oil Drilling, Report to the President”. Available online at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/GPO-OILCOMMISSION/pdf/GPO-OILCOMMISSION.pdf.

Comments

Comment on this article

[1] Aulette, J. and Michalowski, R. ( 1993) “Fire in Hamlet: A Case Study of State-Corporate Crime”, in K. Tunnell, ed., Political Crime in Contemporary America: A Critical Approach . New York: Garland Publishing, pp. 171– 206.

[2] Ball, J. ( 2010) “Congress Questions Oil-Dispersant Usage”, The Wall Street Journal , 1 August. Available online at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703787904575403393553353172.html.

[3] Clifford, M. and Edwards, T. ( 1998) “Defining ‘Environmental Crime’”, in M. Clifford, ed., Environmental Crime: Enforcement, Policy, and Social Responsibility . Gaithersburg: Aspen Publishers, Inc.

[4] Cruciotti, T. and Matthews, R. ( 2006) “The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill”, in R. Michalowski and R. Kramer, eds, State-Corporate Crime: Wrongdoing at the Intersection of Business & Government . New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, pp. 149– 171.

[5] DuBois, S. ( 2010) “Who is Nalco?” CNNMoney , 15 June. Available online at http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/14/news/companies/nalco_macondo_bp_spill.fortune/index.htm.

[6] Earth Justice ( 2011) “The Chaos of Clean-up: Analysis of Potential Health and Environmental Impacts of Chemicals in Dispersant Products”. Available online at http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/Oil_Dispersants_Report.pdf.

[7] Edwards, D. ( 2010a). “After Blocking CBS Crew, Coast Guard Denies ‘BP Rules’”, The Raw Story , 20 May. Available online at http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/05/20/coast-guard-bps-rules/.

[8] Edwards, D. ( 2010b) “Expert Suggests BP Is Hiding Oiled Animal Carcasses”, The Raw Story , 15 June. Available online at http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/06/15/expert-suggests-bp-hiding-oiled-animal-carcasses/.

[9] Engelberg, S. ( 2010) “Photographer Briefly Detained by Police Near BP's Texas City Refinery”, ProPublica , 2 July. Available online at http://www.propublica.org/article/photographer-detained-briefly-by-bp-and-local-police.

[10] Esman, M.R. ( 2010) “Open Letter Concerning Media and Public Access to BP Oil Spill”, American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana , 28 June. Available online at http://www.laaclu.org/PDF_documents/Media_Public_Access_Oil_Spill_Letter_062810.pdf.

[11] Gibbs, C., Gore, M., McGarrell, E. and Rivers, L., III ( 2010) “Introducing Conservation Criminology: Towards Interdisciplinary Scholarship on Environmental Crimes and Risks”, British Journal of Criminology 50( 1): 124– 144.

[12] Jackson, L.P. ( 2010) “Letter from Lisa P. Jackson, EPA Administrator, to David Rainey, V.P. of Gulf of Mexico Exploration, BP Exploration and Production”. 26 May. Available online at http://www.epa.gov/bpspill/dispersants/Rainey-letter-052610.pdf.

[13] Jamail, D. ( 2011) “No End in Sight for Oil in the Gulf of Mexico”, Al Jazeera , 13 September. Available online at http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2011/09/2011912175412109550.html.

[14] Kauzlarich, D. and Kramer, R. ( 1998) Crimes of the America Nuclear State: At Home and Abroad . Boston: Northeastern University Press.

[15] Kramer, R. ( 1992) “The Space Shuttle Challenger Explosion: A Case Study of State-Corporate Crime”, in K. Schlegel and D. Weisburd, eds, White-Collar Crime Reconsidered . Boston: Northwestern University Press, pp. 214– 243.

[16] Kramer, R. and Michalowski, R. ( 2012) “Is Global Warming a State-Corporate Crime?” in R. White, ed., Climate Change, Crime and Criminology . New York: Springer.

[17] Lynch, M. ( 1990) “The Greening of Criminology: A Perspective on the 1990s”, The Critical Criminologist 2( 3): 1– 5.

[18] Lynch, M., Burns, R. and Stretesky, P. ( 2011) “Global Warming and State-Corporate Crime: The Politicization of Global Warming under the Bush Administration”, Crime, Law and Social Change 54( 3–4): 213– 239.

[19] Lynch, M. and Stretesky, P. ( 2003) “The Meaning of Green: Contrasting Criminological Perspectives”, Theoretical Criminology 7( 2): 217– 238.

[20] Lysiak, M. ( 2010) “Dying, Dead Marine Wildlife Paint Dear, Morbid Picture of Gulf Coast Following Oil Spill”, New York Daily News , 2 June. Available online at http://articles.nydailynews.com/2010–06–02/news/27066030_1_oil-spill-pelicans-dead-animals.

[21] Markey, E. ( 2010) “Letter to the USCG Asking Why BP Had Been Exceeding the Dispersant Limits Set in the May 26 Directive”, 24 June. Available online at http://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/june-24–2010-markey-questions-why-bp-is-exceeding-dispersant-directives.

[22] Matthews, R. and Kauzlarich, D. ( 2000) “The Crash of ValuJet Flight 592: A Case Study in State-Corporate Crime”, Sociological Focus 33( 3): 281– 298.

[23] McClelland, M. ( 2010a) “‘It's BP's Oil”, Mother Jones , 24 May. Available online at http://motherjones.com/environment/2010/05/oil-spill-bp-grand-isle-beach.

[24] McClelland, M. ( 2010b). “La. Police Doing BP's Dirty Work”, Mother Jones , 22 June. Available online at http://motherjones.com/rights-stuff/2010/06/BP-louisiana-police-stop-activist.

[25] Michalowski, R. and Kramer, R., (eds) ( 2006) State-Corporate Crime: Wrongdoing at the Intersection of Business & Government . New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.

[26] Mufson, S. and Achenbach, J. ( 2012) “Oil in New Gulf Slick Matches That of 2010 Spill”, The Washington Post , 10 October. Available online at http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/oil-in-new-gulf-slick-matches-that-of-2010-spill/2012/10/10/1f2b937c-1336–11e2-be82-c3411b7680a9_story.html.

[27] Nalco ( 2010) “Corexit Ingredients”. Available online at http://www.nalcoesllc.com/nes/1602.htm.

[28] On Wings of Care ( 2013) “Calm Seas but Troubled Waters”. 27 January. Available online at http://www.onwingsofcare.org/protection-a-preservation/gulf-of-mexico-oil-spill-2010/gulf-2013/359–20130127-calm-seas-troubled-waters.html.

[29] Philips, M. ( 2010) “BP's Photo Blockade of the Gulf Oil Spill”, Newsweek , 26 May. Available online at http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/05/26/the-missing-oil-spill-photos.html.

[30] Rawnsley, A. ( 2010) “BP Hires Mercs to Block Oily Beaches”, Wired , 15 June. Available online at http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/06/bp-hires-mercs-to-block-oily-beaches/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter#ixzz0qvQN3iIg.

[31] Rosenfeld, L. ( 2010) “ProPublica Photographer: I Was Followed by BP Security and Then Detained by Police”, ProPublica , 7 July. Available online at http://www.propublica.org/article/photographer-tells-of-being-followed-by-bp-security-and-then-detained.

[32] Scahill, J. ( 2010) “BP and US Government ‘Command Center’ Guarded by Company from Afghan Embassy Hazing Scandal”, The Nation , 28 May. Available online at http://www.thenation.com/blog/bp-and-us-government-command-center-guarded-company-afghan-embassy-hazing-scandal.

[33] Schor, E. ( 2010) “Ingredients of Controversial Dispersant Used on Gulf Spill Are Secrets No More”, The New York Times , 9 June. Available online at http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/06/09/09greenwireingredients-of-controversial-dispersants-used-42891.html.

[34] Smandych, R. and Kueneman, R. ( 2010) “The Canadian-Alberta Tar Sands: A Case Study of State-Corporate Environmental Crime”, in R. White, ed., Global Environmental Harm: Criminological Perspectives . Portland: Willan Publishing, pp. 87– 109.

[35] Soraghan, M. ( 2010) “As Spill Drifts toward Gulf Shores, Oil Companies Brace for Political Whirlwind”. The New York Times , 29 April. Available online at http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/04/29/29greenwire-as-spill-drifts-toward-gulf-shores-oil-compani-89449.html.

[36] South, N. ( 1998) “A Green Field for Criminology? A Proposal for a Perspective”, Theoretical Criminology 2( 2): 211– 233.

[37] US Coast Guard ( 2010) “Report of Investigation into the Circumstances Surrounding the Explosion, Fire, Sinking and Loss of Eleven Crew Members Aboard the Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico April 20–22, 2010, Volume I”. Available online at http://www.scribd.com/doc/53653055/Report-of-Investigation-into-the-Circumstances-Surrounding-the-Explosion-Fire-Sinking-and-Loss-of-Eleven-Crew-Members-Aboard-the-MOBILE-OFFSHORE-DRI.

[38] US Coast Guard ( 2011) “BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Incident Specific Preparedness Review, Final Report”. Available online at http://www.uscg.mil/foia/docs/DWH/BPDWH.pdf.

[39] US Environmental Protection Agency ( 2010a) “Corexit EC9500A, NCP Product Schedule”. Available online at http://www.epa.gov/oem/content/ncp/products/corex950.htm.

[40] US Environmental Protection Agency ( 2010b) “Corexit EC9527A, NCP Product Schedule”. Available online at http://www.epa.gov/oem/content/ncp/products/corex952.htm.

[41] US National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling ( 2010) “Staff Working Paper No. 4: The Use of Surface and Subsea Dispersants during the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill” (Released 6 October 2010; Updated 11 January 2011). Available online at https://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=16795.

[42] US National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling ( 2011) “Deep Water: The Gulf Oil Disaster and the Future of Offshore Oil Drilling, Report to the President”. Available online at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/GPO-OILCOMMISSION/pdf/GPO-OILCOMMISSION.pdf.

State Crime Journal

State-Corporate Environmental Cover-Up: The Response to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill

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