Within the field of offshore drilling, there are many incidents of oil spills, pollution leaks, and worker injuries. In fact, these incidents have almost come to be expected. To combat the adversity surrounding accidents and injuries of this nature, new studies are being conducted at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to try and prevent the level of catastrophe that these accidents generally lead to. Attempts are underway to create anticipatory and predictive measures to do just this.
MIT's Impact and Crashworthiness Laboratory – a facility usually used to test the crash potential of automobiles – is now shifting its focus to include the oil and gas industry. Researchers at the lab are now using the same types of simulations that were created for car crashworthiness testing to assess the potential for pipe fracture in offshore drilling accidents.
The research team at MIT has been put to work simulating disasters such as the Deepwater Horizon explosion of 2010 in hopes of learning how to predict the location and growth of cracks in the drill rise of an oil rig. With the knowledge of how different materials of variable shapes and sizes react under pressure, it will be possible to simulate a material's behavior in almost any scenario. Therefore, the conditions that typically lead up to an oil spill or explosion could be proactively prevented in the future.
Drillers, harbor workers,
seamen, and the like will all face less hazardous working conditions as the potential for mechanical failure or product error will be significantly lessened with improvements that could be made to industry operations.
The recent research being conducted by MIT's program is forward moving, to say the least. It may be primarily geared toward the prevention of oil spills, but it would create great strides in the creation of safer working environments for the industry's employees as well. With the help of the study's findings, the offshore injury field could be a much safer one in which to work.
If you or someone you know has been injured in an offshore accident then you may be entitled to financial compensation and legal representation. An offshore injury lawyer can help you recover from the damaging effects of a devastation of this nature. At Arnold & Itkin, LLP we have represented some of the world's most notorious oil spill and
maritime cases, and we have obtained successful results for many of our clients. In fact, in 2011 alone we recovered $250 million in verdicts and settlements for our clients.
Contact and offshore injury attorney from Arnold & Itkin, LLP today to learn more about the logistics of your case, and how we may be of service.