20/03 #2 US Chemical Board Recommends More Regulation Of Oil Field Wastes

[admin]

One tragic accident can result in one tragic set of regulations. The question is whether the new regulations are cost beneficial. Consider the accident of fatality in an oil field. The government is recommending additional regulation.
Is it cost-effective or are we trying for a risk-free society?

"The real cause of this accident was that the truck engines were left running. Anyone who has ever been to a gas station knows you just don't do that. To make things worse, the trucks were not outfitted with a common safety device that prevents diesel engines from over-racing. The engines began over-racing and one of them backfired, emitting a spark that caused this horrible accident. "

Read article

http://ogj.pennnet.com/articles/web_article_display.cfm?ARTICLE_CATEGORY=GenIn&ARTICLE_ID=187691

[johnshaw]

>>One tragic accident can result in one tragic set of regulations.<<

The accident is indeed tragic. What is tragic about the regulations? The article does not specify what regulations may be proposed in response. Is there a reason to jump to the conclusion that the resulting regulations, which will likely save lives if they prevent a repeat of the accident, are "tragic"?

It is tragic that the loss of human life is often required to bring about regulations that save lives. We see this in decisions regarding stop light placement on city streets and in industrial safety regulation.