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Jobs and Careers in the BP Disaster in the Gulf of MexicoOpportunities in the Gusher
Major disasters and industrial accidents such as the Exxon Valdez spill, the Indian Ocean tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, and more recently the Deepwater Horizon disaster can have a widespread -- even global -- social, political, economic and employment impact long after the precipitating event has passed. Quickly dubbed "the worst" environmental disaster in U.S. history, the crisis began with the April 20, 2010 drilling rig explosion killing 11 workers and injuring 17 others. The incident started the massive spread of oil in the Gulf of Mexico. The deep water well spewed oil unimpeded for 85 days, at rates government scientists estimated at about 2.5 million gallons per day. Repeated efforts to cap or choke off the surge failed until the flow finally ceased, at least temporarily, during an acknowledged “test” of a new, tight-fitting, 75-ton cap on July 15. By that time, the surge had created a surface slick visible across 2,700 square miles and reached the shores of 5 states, devastating wildlife, natural resources, and regional industries and jobs already struggling in a sour economy.
Gusher of Direct Response Jobs
Even while disasters of such scope can lay ruin to many regional industries and jobs, the effort required to grasp, contain, and ultimately recover from and avoid them can also generate opportunities – short- and long-term – extending across all sectors and industries. Direct response to the spill has employed a “virtual army” of workers. Among those mobilized to stop the oil flow, and to protect the environment, wildlife and people of the region, were professionals and volunteers, technical specialists and skilled laborers, military personnel and academics, and even robotic responders. The great majority of paid workers have been contracted to BP, either directly or by way of 16 prime and subcontractors. These in turn generate and fill positions both through direct recruitment and further subcontracting activity.
As detailed by the Center for American Progress' Brad Johnson, the main BP spill response contractors represent a wide range of industries, service types, and job opportunities, and fall under six main areas.(3) Providing High-Level Logistics Support and Operations Management are contractors Response Group, Inc., Marine Spill Response Corporation, Oil Spill Response, O’Brien’s Response Management and National Response Corporation. Specializing in disaster preparedness and response, these organizations maintain carefully selected staffs experienced in responding to crises in general or oil spills in particular. Response Group, Inc.’s services, for example, include consulting and software to help develop “pre-established” MMS-regulated Oil Spill Response Plans (OSRPs), “designed to both help our clients to meet their regulatory requirements in a timely and effective manner and provide a useful emergency response plan.” O’Brien’s Response Management manages government and public relations on BP’s behalf, and provides complex communications systems (Web, hotlines, call centers). National Response Corporation and Marine Spill Response Corporation provide ready-to-activate response command center teams, ships and aircraft outfitted with clean-up equipment, and subcontractor management and recruitment services. UK-based Oil Spill Response similarly provides aircraft, monitoring equipment, and experts to support shore cleanup assessment teams.
Other highly specialized contactors provide technological systems, expertise and manpower to work on the Well-Head and Drilling response. Fluor, a Fortune 500 “engineering, procurement, construction, maintenance, and project management” firm, employs a wide range of engineering, industrial design, project management, and business analysis specialists for its global construction services. Swift Worldwide Resources is a specialized global recruiter of manpower for petroleum industry projects. Transocean, which owns the rig, has continued to focus on tasks including relief well drilling and debris retrieval. Halliburton, another BP partner working on the well just before the explosion, has continued to support planning for drilling relief wells and stopping the original well. A large number of staffing subcontractors have been deployed to recruit workers for Hazardous Waste Response, advertising, vetting, training and outfitting personnel for mostly short-term marine and beach cleanup tasks. Hazardous material response contractors such as Advanced Cleanup Technologies, Parsons Corporation and others supply and coordinate cleanup efforts, both by providing equipment such as skimmers and containment boom, and by coordinating efforts like the Vessels of Opportunity Program, which trains and pays local boatowners to participate in the cleanup. Other specialty firms including Clean Harbors focus on handling, removal, and ultimate treatment/disposal/recycling of hazardous materials from affected sites. BP has contracted ESIS, Inc. to field more than 700 claims professionals in dozens of Gulf offices to handle Claims Processing.
A number of nonprofit Wildlife Rescue organizations have sent veterinarians, animal handling staff and volunteers to help rescue, care for, and relocate animals and birds, including BP contractors Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research of Newark, DE, the International Bird Rescue Research Center of Fairfield, CA, and the Louisiana State Animal Response Team of Baton Rouge, LA. Multiple companies, laboratories and academic research centers have also been engaged for Scientific Monitoring of the polluted environment. Providing toxicology testing and assessment on BP’s behalf, outfits such as Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health help monitor the disaster’s health impact on workers (with government agencies "double-checking" through monitoring, assessment and enforcement). Total Safety provides safety equipment and medical personnel to support cleanup workers.
Government Sector ResponseUnder the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, the heaviest responsibility for securing the well and cleaning up the spill fell to BP, to the tune of $4 billion by late-July and counting. However, the government sector, too, deployed personnel, specialists, and contractors to the disaster response.
With the U.S. Coast Guard providing oversight for the cleanup, an array of federal and state government agencies has contributed personnel or support to a Unified Area Command. Led by the Department of Homeland Security, an interdepartmental effort supports the spill response through activities ranging from high-level coordination, situation monitoring and regulatory enforcement, and scientific assessment; to providing on-the-ground technical, operational and funding assistance; to recruitment of temporary cleanup workers and volunteers. FEMA provides personnel and additional Logistics and External Affairs support to the federal response effort. Under the Department of Commerce, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) employs scientists including meteorologists, oceanographers and marine biologists that contribute coordinated scientific weather forecasting and biological monitoring services to guide other response organizations.
The Department of the Interior is fielding multiple subagencies to support the unified command. The Fish & Wildlife Service assists with protecting the habitat and assessing long-term damage to impacted resources. The National Park Service helped draft plans for wildlife reconnaissance and recovery, and shoreline cleanup and assessment; conducted surveys and sampling to document baseline conditions; and mobilized resource experts to direct cleanup and recovery teams. Scientists from multiple disciplines are working together under the U.S. Geological Survey and NASA to develop geospatial and remote sensing information for use by the Unified Command. The USGS is mobilizing biologic, geologic, geographic, and hydrologic monitoring experts to begin sampling of water, sand, sediment and vegetation for toxicity testing, and to help evaluate impacts to wildlife. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement works with other parties to secure the well, protect the environment, and conduct investigation of the incident. Numerous federal, state and local agencies are also contributing to hands-on wildlife monitoring and rescue, and food safety inspection. The Environmental Protection Agency is monitoring and responding to potential public health and environmental concerns, and validating and publishing environmental data, including air quality and water samples. The Department of Labor (DOL) is working to place and protect workers in the area. The Employment and Training Administration also supports retraining and re-employment to help local displaced workers find new opportunities. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), working with the Centers for Disease Control, is evaluating safety at hazardous worksites around the Gulf, and publishing worker exposure data, training requirements, and personal protective equipment information. DOL also provides workers and contractors with multilingual resources regarding wage laws and federal contract compliance. About 1,900 Department of Defense and associated personnel were deployed to support the clean up as well, including crews of military-owned skimmers, aircraft and pollution control equipment. DOD bases provided staging areas for boom deployments and other activities. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has also authorized up to 17,500 National Guard members in four states: Alabama (3,000), Florida (2,500), Louisiana (6,000) and Mississippi (6,000).
Longer-Term Impact on Careers Outlook
Additionally and ironically, a boom of temporary emergency response jobs has been a "silver lining" for regional employment. Local maritime, transportation and shipyard businesses could temporarily ramp up hiring or “retool” existing services for redeployment to response and clean-up jobs. More lucrative short-term opportunities abound in particular for businesses and institutions with technical or environmental expertise and with prior emergency response experience, as well as workers with certifications such as OSHA, HAZMAT and HAZWOPER (Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response). Even tangentially related occupations, from hospitality and daycare to public safety and sanitation workers, have benefited by supporting the living needs of a sudden influx of temporary workers to the area. However, as those temporary jobs fade, many regional industries and occupations may suffer. Forecasts of jobs and revenue losses are subject to highly politicized speculation. By most accounts, however, the disaster stands to significantly impact employment in areas ranging from seafood (83,927 square miles closed to fishing) and energy production to tourism (est. $22.7 billion in lost revenue) (4) and real estate (est. $4.3 billion property value loss over 3 years) (5) for years to come.
While difficult to gauge, projected spill-driven job-losses from Moody's analysts ranged from a best-case 17,000 jobs to a more pessimistic 100,000 jobs lost in the region.(6) Meanwhile, Gulf states and the oil industry have expressed concern about longer-term unemployment that may result from a moratorium on deep-water oil drilling, a significant jobs-generator for the region. David Kotok, chairman of the investment advisory firm Cumberland Advisors, has somewhat dramatically estimated job losses of "nearly 1 million" as a result of the moratorium.(7) Taking a long-range view, though, the 2010 BP disaster reveals much about workforce and educational needs and opportunities in our time. Disasters of this scope can lead to seachanges both in regulation and in public opinion, with long-term implications for employment and career trajectories. In some cases, new technological or environmental insights, regulatory directions, education and job training approaches, and business models and incentives can even give rise to whole new, specialized sub-industries, technologies and areas of degree study. Indeed, some of the main contractors related to the BP spill response (Marine Spill Response Corp., National Response Corp.), as well as government programs (NOAA's Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Program), were only recently created in response to government regulations enacted after past disasters such as the Exxon Valdez spill. Some areas where opportunities can already be anticipated, even as the BP disaster is still unfolding:
Oil industry and energy scientists: Research consortia and academic centers are being funded to analyze the spill’s environmental impact, and research new methods for preventing and responding to deep water drilling accidents. BP has committed up to $500 million funding for a 10-year research funding program, Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative. Already, fast-track funding was awarded to Louisiana State University, and consortia including Florida Institute of Oceanography and the Northern Gulf Institute. (8) Supported research will especially focus on the interactions of oil, dispersants, and the environment. Such consortia can involve specialists including biologists, chemists, geologists, geophysicists, computer scientists, meteorologists, oceanographers, zoologists, geomatics engineers, electrical engineers, landscape architects, urban planners, economists, ecologists and botanists. Shortly after the appearance of suspect tarballs on Texas shores, Governor Rick Perry announced the formation of The Gulf Project, (9) a consortium of state research and business organizations to study possible improvements to deep water well testing and drilling techniques. Although currently unfunded, the governor suggested that future funding could be sought from private industry. Alternative energy researchers and specialists: Civil and chemical engineers, materials scientists, and research technicians will be sought as new companies respond to both market demand and government incentives to develop clean and alternative fuel models. BP itself announced that its Alternative Energy projects "are expanding, and … will be looking for people with a wide range of skills to help us deliver them. We are particularly keen to receive applications from project engineers, project managers, plant operators and technicians with experience." BP's website says it is looking to invest $8 billion over the next 10 years "to provide customers with clean, secure energy which will shape the evolution of the global energy industry in the coming decades." With existing projects in photovoltaic and wind power, BP Alternative Energy proposes developing future projects in "advanced bio-fuels and hydrogen power with carbon capture and storage." (10)
Environmental and Marine Specialists: On June 19, President Obama signed an Executive Order creating a National Ocean Council (11) responsible for crafting and implementing "a comprehensive, integrated National Policy for the...preservation and sustainable uses...of the ocean, our coasts, and Great Lakes." With an emphasis on science-based, interdepartmental data sharing and decision-making that also accounts for the policy's economic and security impacts, it is likely that policies and regulations arising from such a body would depend significantly not only on data gathering and analysis by scientists (marine, atmospheric, geological, and others), but also on economists, data management specialists, and transportation, security and business experts. International and environmental law specialists will be needed to interpret evolving regulations and international agreements. Disaster Response Services: According to an analysis of FEMA and private industry sources by a panel of intelligence analysts at Homeland Security News, (12) "the emergency management industry will employ 1.6 [million] people and spend $65 [billion] on wages alone by year 2012," making it a boom industry even amid a recession. Roles will range from public safety jobs such as fire and police dispatchers to well-paid "Private Sector Contingency Planning, Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery Specialists".
ConclusionDisasters from the Valdez spill to the BP disaster have underscored, and in some cases created, areas in need of specialized workers, especially those with environmental, organizational, and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) backgrounds. Many of these are areas facing worker shortages, and also where African Americans, women, and other minority groups are underrepresented -- and an untapped pool of potential talent.
Stopping the leak has has required the combined efforts, technologies and brainpower of thousands of contractors, industrial manufacturers, technology and information specialists, management experts, communications professionals, scientists and natural resource experts, medical responders and healthcare workers, government and military organizers, and engineers and technicians of every stripe. Similar resources will need to be mobilized for the future disasters and accidents, as well, whether in the water, on land or in the air -- in the U.S. or abroad. When crisis hits, these will be especially valued not only for their technical and organizing skill, but for their preparation, experience and effectiveness in large-scale emergency conditions. BP's response to this crisis has been criticized by ethnic media and organizations such as the NAACP for a "lack of equal consideration" extended to minority businesses and communities. Moving forward, however, it is clear that responding to -- and avoiding -- similar future disasters will require a diverse workforce that is well-prepared and educated to meet increasingly complex technological, environmental and economic challenges with global impact.
Other Readings of Related Interest
Select Response Organizations
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