Page 24 - Jean Pascal News Today

Ombudsmans office says they are extremely serious. but keeping them honest, sources close to the ombudsmans office tells cnn bp doesnt like it and its independent investigators, that it doesnt like employees reporting safety problems outside the company. a union representative says some bp workers who complained have faced retaliation. jean pascal agrees. >> many employees who have actually reported safety, health, environmental and safety issues, particularly in alaska, have been retaliated aga...

Safety. >> was because of safety, yes. and safety concerns continue yet today. >> reporter: since the ombudsmans office opened, 112 bp workers have come forward to file reports, 35 of them deal with, quote, system integrity or safety issues, and the ombudsmans office says they are extremely serious. but keeping them honest, sources close to the ombudsmans office says bp doesnt like it and its independent investigators and that it doesnt lining employees reporting safety problems outside the comp...

In fact, the law allows 30 days for this review. given the slow pace of government bureaucracy, no one believes it would get through it in just 30 days. thats another reason why the agency gave the industry a pass. the interior department wont comment because of pending litigation. but now the whole process is being reexamined by the white house, too late to help the gulf. joe johns, cnn, washington. >> along with the cozy relationship with regulators, bp has been plagued with safety questions a...

Reports. >> reporter: for 26 years, jean pascal was a lawyer for the environmental protection agency, investigating and helping prosecute some of the worst environmental polluters in the northwest, including oil companies in alaska. and the worst of the worst, she says, is british petroleum. you describe bp as a serial environmental criminal. >> i have. >> reporter: you believe that? >> i do. >> reporter: bp has plead guilty to illegally discharging oil in alaska and also faces a criminal compla...

bp says high winds caused the containment cap to wobble today, leading to a slight drop in oil collection. meanwhile admiral thad allen says skimming capability has increased five fold since the beginning of june. even so, bobby jindal says local parishes are still waiting for their cleanup equipment. and a new forecast by noaa says theres an 80% choice that the oil will reach miami, thats right, miami, by the middle of august. its already made its way to the panhandle of florida where...

collection. meanwhile admiral thad allen says skimming capability has increased five fold since the beginning of june. even so, bobby jindal says local parishes are still waiting for their cleanup equipment. and a new forecast by noaa says theres an 80% choice that the oil will reach miami, thats right, miami, by the middle of august. its already made its way to the panhandle of florida where a new health watch was issued for all pensacola beaches, a disastrous start for the holiday we...

Safety questions have plagued bp long before this spill. as we reported, employees accused the company of putting profits above the safety of people. for the last four years, they paid for an internal watchdog un unit. tonight weve learned something pretty starting. bp is trying to eliminate that program. special investigations unit correspondent drew griffin investigates. >> reporter: for 26 years, jean pascal was a lawyer for the environmental protection agency, investigating and trying to pro...

Independent investigators and it doesnt like employees reporting safety problems outsi the company. a union representative said some bp workers who complained faced retaliation. jean pascal agrees. >> many employees who have actually reported environmental, safety and health issues, particularly in alaska, have been retaliated against, theyve been demoted, terminated and also have been blackballed. >> reporter: a bp spokesman says the company has, quote, a zero tolerance policy regarding retalia...

Michigan congressman bart stupak was one of those who pressured bp. >> the entire reason that office came to fruition was because of safety. >> was because of safety, yes, and safety concerns continue yet today. >> reporter: since the ombudsmans office opened, 112 bp workers have come forward to file reports, 35 of them deal with, quote, system integrity or safety issues and the ombudsmans office says they are extremely serious but keeping them honest, sources close to the ombudsmans office says...

Retaliation. jean pascal agrees. >> many workers who reported issues have been retaliated against, theyve been demoted, terminated and also been blackballed. >> a bp spokesman says the company has, quote, a zero tolerance policy regarding retaliati retaliation. the company, he says, is unaware of any unresolved cases that violate the policy. and theres this. not long after he took over as chairman of the bp america, lamar mckay met with congressman stupak. >> he said im going to replace the ombu...