Gas Extraction and Oil Safety Issues, Research Paper Example

Introduction

It is essential to study the health and safety issues relevant to the oil and gas extraction field because it is a dangerous but necessary occupation. According to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), 823 workers in this field were killed on the job between 2003 and 2010; a fatality rate greater than all other industries in the United States. While many professions have threats to safety, oil and gas extraction workers face a greater amount of these potential dangers on a daily basis. It is therefore important to consider how these accidents occur and what could be done to prevent them.

Causes of Accidents and Solutions

According to OSHA’s website, there are many components of the oil and gas industry that can pose a health and safety threat to workers. Among these are issues that are essential to consider when preparing a site for drilling, the drilling itself, servicing the rig, and plugging an abandoned well (OSHA, 2009). It is essential to understand how oil and gas workers interact with both each other and the machinery in these capacities in order to understand the potential for danger they face. Each job application is unique, and must be considered individually to maximize safety effort.

Leading causes of on-the job deaths and accidents in the oil and gas extraction industry include vehicle accidents, workers getting struck by, caught in, or caught-between machinery that they or others operate, explosions and fires, falls, confined spaces, and chemical exposures. The potential risk that each individual employee is taking by working in this industry is directly related to his or her job duties. In many cases, injury and death could be completely avoidable.

One such completely avoidable accident in the oil and gas industry is vehicle accidents. Vehicle accidents are not directly related to job performance in this field, so we can assume that vehicle accidents occur primarily as a consequence of employees travelling to and from the rig for maintenance or to deliver parts or other items that may be needed to ensure that the rig is working properly. When employees are required to drive for their jobs, they are usually expected to arrive on site in a timely manner. If an oil rig needs maintenance, employees are pressure to arrive quickly and address the issue so the company can continue to make profit. In this situation, many employers fail to consider the detrimental effects that rushing the maintenance process could have on their employees. Firstly, it is important to consider that an employee could be running late for several understandable reasons. They could either be stuck in traffic, need to travel a large distance, or need to travel slowly to ensure the equipment they are carrying with them remains safely attached to the vehicle. When an employer attempts to rush this process to increase productivity of drilling, they are putting the employees’ life at risk. It is unsafe in any circumstances to be travelling above the speed limit, especially when carrying heavy and potentially hazardous cargo, and dodging traffic is not a safe practice either.

These kinds of traffic accidents in the oil and gas field can be avoided if the oil and gas company strictly adheres to OSHA principles; even though 823 workers have died in this industry in a 7 year period, adherence to OSHA has been shown to reduce deaths in this field (OSHA, n.d.). The main way that companies could avoid car crashes and related accidents in this industry is to allow their employees to have more time to travel between sites and convince them that the time it takes them to travel will not reflect upon their work ethic or performance. Furthermore, to ensure that employees travel safely while on the job, it is necessary to ensure that all company vehicles are properly maintained and equipped with necessary safety gear. It should be required for all vehicle inspections to be passed and recommended to equip the vehicle with a GPS that indicates routes with information including traffic reports and areas that oversized vehicles can and can’t travel. This will contribute to the ability for employees to avoid encountering accidents while on the job.

When servicing the rig or drilling, it is possible for employees to become caught in the machinery. While the rig is a complex contraption and many people are involved in its use simultaneously, oil and gas companies can do many things to ensure that their workers remain safe throughout the day. The most important safety feature on the rig itself is the installation of railings, stairs, walkways, ladders, and handrails. Since rigs are usually very high, the odds of an employee falling is very likely without the equipment; falling into the machinery or off the platform are very possible dangers. As a consequence, it is important to have walkways that are large enough for several employees to stand on without worry of needing the squeeze by, and there should be enough railings to protect employees both from the machinery and from falling off the rig. Ladders should also be installed safety; they need to be a safe distance from moving parts of the machine so that clothing or other objects don’t get caught in it. When possible, stairs should replace ladders to eliminate the possibility of falling; when this is not possible, ladders should be kept short to decrease the likelihood of falling (OSHA, n.d.).

When the rig is being taken down and the hole filled, employees have other safety concerns. If the job is not done carefully, they could be struck by rig equipment. The safety solution that OSHA proposes for this situation is called tripping out. Even when this method is used, it is possible to cause muscle strain and to have body parts pinched between slips or slip handles and the rotary table (OSHA, n.d.). To prevent against this, it’s important to have proper hand positioning when working with the machinery at all times. In addition, proper stance and the use of gloves is important. It is the responsibility of the gas an oil company to adequately train their employees to know what these stances are and to have protective gear available for them at all times. In addition, the company should follow up with and monitor their employees to ensure this training is remembered, used by the employees, and up to date. If this is done, it is likely that the employees will avoid the risks of taking down the rig.

Conclusion

It is important to remember that although OSHA lays out a lot of useful safety advice for both workers and companies in the oil and gas industry, this is a very dangerous profession and accidents can still happen. However, it is the responsibility of the company to ensure that these accidents are minimized and that their employees are providing with a maximally safe work environment. To do so, it is necessary for the company to educate employees about proper safety procedures necessary for their job, which includes knowledge about how to put out chemical firesor who to contact if one arises, reporting unsafe equipment, including platforms that do not have safety railings or are not regularly inspected, driving carefully despite time constrictions and timeliness that the company may emphasize, and providing basic knowledge about chemical exposures and how to access facilities that can help treat the exposure and protect the employees.

Due to the success of OSHA’s current policy in the oil and gas industry, the lives of many employees have been spared. It is essential for health and safety professionals to continue to analyze the work situations of these employees and provide new suggestions about how we can make this industry even safer. While it is important to target the accidents that contribute to the most deaths in the field, it is also important to consider general accidents, no matter how big or small. Ultimately, every employee has the right to know they are working in a safe environment and that their company thoroughly cares about their protection. Together, oil and gas companies and OSHA can make this a reality.

References

OSHA. (n.d.). Drilling. Retrieved from https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/oilandgas/drilling/drilling.html

OSHA. (n.d.). Oil and Gas Extraction. Retrieved from  https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/oilgaswelldrilling/

OSHA. (n.d.). Tripping Out/In. Retrieved from             https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/oilandgas/drilling/trippingout_in.html

OSHA. (2009). Oil and Gas Well Drilling and Servicing eTool. Retrieved from             https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/oilandgas/