Is BP Uniquely Bad?

by Patrick Appel

Bradford Plumer weighs the evidence:

The company has a long record of safety violations—in 2005, an aging BPplant in Texas exploded, killing 15 people, and an after-action reportblamed "organizational and safety deficiencies at all levels of BP."Then came a large leak that poured 267,000 gallons of oil into PrudhoeBay, Alaska in 2006, thanks to poorly maintained pipes. And just thisyear, federal inspectors have found 62 safety violations at BP's Ohiorefinery. Yet BP never...