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The Macondo well blowout resulted in 11 fatalities and caused the largest nonintentional oil spill in history. The situation stemmed from a series of human errors through all stages of the project leading up to the blowout and subsequent explosion. These errors include faulty interpretation of signals indicating problems with well and safety system integrity, inappropriate modifications to safety systems, inadequate design of critical systems, failure to provide redundancy in the design stage, failure to adhere to administrative controls for the safe operation, failure to follow the American Petroleum Institute Recommended Practices 75 on drilling mud circulation, and others. Twenty five specific errors have been identified and classified into eight categories. The results show that the majority of the errors are latent errors and caused by poor leadership in the organization or management. In order to resolve these issues it is necessary to create a safety culture in which safety is paramount in operations and facilities. There are many lessons learned from this incident, but the most important lesson is that safety must be a way of life, beginning in the design stage and carrying through the project life cycle.

Damage to human neurological system cells resulting from exposure to mycotoxins confirms a previously controversial public health threat for occupants of water-damaged buildings. Leading scientific organizations disagree about the ability of inhaled mycotoxins in the indoor environment to cause adverse human health effects. Damage to the neurological system can result from exposure to trichothecene mycotoxins in the indoor environment. This study demonstrates that neurological system cell damage can occur from satratoxin H exposure to neurological cells at exposure levels that can be found in water-damaged buildings contaminated with fungal growth. The constant activation of inflammatory and apoptotic pathways at low levels of exposure in human brain capillary endothelial cells, astrocytes, and neural progenitor cells may amplify devastation to neurological tissues and lead to neurological system cell damage from indirect events triggered by the presence of trichothecenes.

The Incident Command System (ICS) is a standardized approach typically structured into five functional areas: command, operations, planning, logistics, and finance. The system allows for the integration of personnel, facilities, equipment, procedures, and communications within an organizational structure. It is a mature system and has been used by industries for a long time to aid in the proper mitigation of industrial incidents. The course named “Hazardous Materials Incident Management” is taught in the Department of Fire Protection & Safety at Oklahoma State University, which is designed to prepare students to manage hazardous materials emergencies through extensive hands‐on trainings. This article shows three design scenarios and how the ICS procedures are applied by student teams during the field trainings. Emergency response can be safely and effectively accomplished only when procedures are established and standardized through appropriate training. The discussion will help the academia and industry to well prepare/train the next generation of both public and private sector emergencyresponse personnel. © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog, 2012

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