BP and oil lease in the Gulf of MexicoFour years after the Deep Water Horizon accident in the Gulf of Mexico, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) authorizes British Petroleum (BP) to drill for oil once again in the Gulf. Many consumer advocacy groups, primarily Public Citizens, have expressed concerns over the decision. The lack of corporate accountability and oversight makes this decision seem unethical to these advocacy groups. The company, however, undertakes to follow the agency's ethics and security procedure given the new leases. However, a series of accidents on its infrastructure makes the company's reform doubtful. Since 2005, PBS has reported on four major incidents involving BP. The first incident was an explosion that killed 15 people at the BP refinery in Texas City. BP did not replace old blown barrels, a safety feature, with safer, modern flares to save money. An investigation commissioned by former Secretary of State James Baker concluded that the incident was preventable and that BP failed to make safety a priority. In the Alaska incident, 260,000 gallons of oil leaked from a BP pipeline on Alaska's North Slope in March 2006. Subsequent investigations revealed that BP hired uncertified inspectors and held poorly its records. BP agreed to re-inspect 10,000 points and corrected its problems. In July 2005, a BP oil platform called Thunder Horse collapsed after Hurricane Dennis. After an investigation, BP discovered that its engineers had incorrectly installed a number of valves supporting the platform. In January 2007, the Minerals Management Service declared the accident to be due to human error (PBS). In 2010, the Deep Water Horizon rig exploded, causing an oil leak into the Gulf of Mexico. Again, BP is ...... middle of paper ......n Knutson. “Years of internal BP investigations have warned that negligence could lead to accidents.” http://www.propublica.org. Np, June 7, 2010. Web. April 19, 2014. Krauss, Clifford. "US agrees to allow BP to return to Gulf waters to search for oil." The New York Times. The New York Times, March 13, 2014. Web. . “BP’s Troubled Past.” PBS. PBS and Web. . .Hammer, David. “Five key human errors and a colossal mechanical failure led to deadly Gulf oil rig blowout.” The Times-Picayune. Np, September 5, 2010. Web. . .