Transocean Ltd., the company that owned the Deepwater Horizon rig (BP had a relationship to buy their oil), failed to install an acoustically triggered shutoff valve (Cost: $500,000) that could have stopped the flow of the oil. U.S. regulators declined to make the installation of these backup safety valves mandatory, and BP was one of the few that did not voluntarily install it on their rigs.
via mnn.com
It just goes to show how guilty US regulators are to this disaster. A simple switch could have stopped this catastrohpe from ever happening, but revenue and probable budget cuts in preventive maintenance proved too difficult for stockholders to accept. I am convinced that BP is not worried though, all costs will be pushed to us the consumer.
