BP Tries to Limit Release of Oil Spill Research
The F-22 fighter jet / CBS News
Faced with hundreds of lawsuits and a deep need for experts, BP has been offering some Gulf Coast scientists lucrative consulting contracts that bar them from releasing their findings on the company's massive oil spill for three years.
Special Section: Disaster in the Gulf
Report: BP Looks To Buy Up Gulf Coast Scientists
Some scientists say the contracts constrain academic freedom. A few signed the agreements, then changed their minds.
And others argue BP's contract is standard, and with little federal funding available to study the spill's impact, Gulf Coast researchers have few other options.
"I personally wouldn't care to have my research limited, but if I wanted to do work on the spill and this was the only way I could get out there and get working on it, I don't think there's a lot of alternatives," said Chris D'Elia, dean of the Louisiana State University School of the Coast and Environment.
BP confirms hiring more than a dozen scientists who have Gulf Coast expertise to assist with hundreds of lawsuits and assess the environmental damage caused by the spill.
"What we have asked is that they treat information from BP's lawyers as confidential, as is customary," said David Nicholas, a BP spokesman in London. "But we do not take the position that environmental data is confidential and we do not place restrictions on academics speaking about scientific data."
Still, American Association of University Professors President Cary Nelson said the three-year limitation could suppress information key to restoring the environment.
"Many scientists are turning down these contracts because they feel this research needs to be shared with the public, it needs to be shared with the government," said Nelson, whose group represents about 48,000 academics.
Researchers are asked to sign similar contracts with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the federal agency charged with tracking the oil and assessing the damage.
Also in the mix is a hesitance to be associated with the company that's responsible for around 184 million gallons of oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico.
"Setting aside any good intentions, the idea of being affiliated with BP was not a good thing," said Joe Griffitt, a scientist at the Gulf Coast Research Marine Lab at the University of Southern Mississippi, who initially signed a deal with BP, then changed his mind.
In the end, each side will try to get as many experts on their team as possible, removing knowledge from the public domain, said Mark Davis, director of the Institute on Water Resources Law and Policy at Tulane Law School in New Orleans.
"That's not wrong. Those are the rules of the game," he said. "It's the survival of a company, the survival of a crucial industry is at stake in a vital market area. This is serious business."
More Oil Spill Coverage
Alarms on Oil Rig Partly Disabled before Blast
As Bonnie Looms, Relief Well Put on Hold
Bonnie Halts Spill Cleanup
Oil Spill Ships Ordered to Leave Before Bonnie
Ask CBS News: Will Storms Undo Work on Oil Well?
BP Oil Well to Stay Capped during Tropical Storm
AP Special Section: Disaster in the Gulf
Report: BP Looks To Buy Up Gulf Coast Scientists
Some scientists say the contracts constrain academic freedom. A few signed the agreements, then changed their minds.
And others argue BP's contract is standard, and with little federal funding available to study the spill's impact, Gulf Coast researchers have few other options.
"I personally wouldn't care to have my research limited, but if I wanted to do work on the spill and this was the only way I could get out there and get working on it, I don't think there's a lot of alternatives," said Chris D'Elia, dean of the Louisiana State University School of the Coast and Environment.
BP confirms hiring more than a dozen scientists who have Gulf Coast expertise to assist with hundreds of lawsuits and assess the environmental damage caused by the spill.
"What we have asked is that they treat information from BP's lawyers as confidential, as is customary," said David Nicholas, a BP spokesman in London. "But we do not take the position that environmental data is confidential and we do not place restrictions on academics speaking about scientific data."
Still, American Association of University Professors President Cary Nelson said the three-year limitation could suppress information key to restoring the environment.
"Many scientists are turning down these contracts because they feel this research needs to be shared with the public, it needs to be shared with the government," said Nelson, whose group represents about 48,000 academics.
Researchers are asked to sign similar contracts with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the federal agency charged with tracking the oil and assessing the damage.
Also in the mix is a hesitance to be associated with the company that's responsible for around 184 million gallons of oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico.
"Setting aside any good intentions, the idea of being affiliated with BP was not a good thing," said Joe Griffitt, a scientist at the Gulf Coast Research Marine Lab at the University of Southern Mississippi, who initially signed a deal with BP, then changed his mind.
In the end, each side will try to get as many experts on their team as possible, removing knowledge from the public domain, said Mark Davis, director of the Institute on Water Resources Law and Policy at Tulane Law School in New Orleans.
"That's not wrong. Those are the rules of the game," he said. "It's the survival of a company, the survival of a crucial industry is at stake in a vital market area. This is serious business."
More Oil Spill Coverage
Alarms on Oil Rig Partly Disabled before Blast
As Bonnie Looms, Relief Well Put on Hold
Bonnie Halts Spill Cleanup
Oil Spill Ships Ordered to Leave Before Bonnie
Ask CBS News: Will Storms Undo Work on Oil Well?
BP Oil Well to Stay Capped during Tropical Storm
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The pols will take their blood money and retire from public life in whatever comfort they may derive from having sold out their constituents, with the hope that their children may not decide to make the choices they made, but without the realistic expectation.
suspend all their rights to drilling for three years. extend the term for bring suit against them to four years.
15-20 years from now, those of us who paid with lost livelyhood, lost family legacy, with a direct connection to the situation, will read about the eventual small time settlements or settlement. Just the same as the Valdez families did.
3 years sounds about right for BP to buy off most folks, it'll be page 14 by then.
Disgusting.