Disasters

"China's largest reported oil spill more than doubled in size to 165 sq. miles (430 sq. kilometers) by Wednesday, forcing nearby beaches to close and prompting one official to warn of a 'severe threat' to sea life and water quality."

"None of the five witnesses called to testify will appear at Wednesday’s hearing of the U.S. Coast Guard-Interior Department probe into what caused the Deepwater Horizon oil rig to explode."

"The EPA says some communities in Louisiana face a 'moderate health risk' due to hydrocarbon fumes from the Gulf oil spill. Researchers will report air quality findings this week."

"A top BP official aboard the oil rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in April was expected to refuse to speak at a federal hearing Tuesday."

"The Obama administration has released a new analysis of chemical monitoring performed by BP PLC in order to tamp down concerns that offshore responders battling the oil giant's Gulf of Mexico gusher have been exposed to a chemical linked to lingering health problems among cleanup workers long after the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill."

"The Obama administration has asked the governments of Scotland and Britain to review the decision last summer to release the Libyan convicted in the Lockerbie airliner bombing." Four U.S. Senators have asked whether BP lobbied for the release in order to get Libyan oil and gas leases.

"Oil from BP's blown out well is again seeping into the Gulf of Mexico, but this time, more slowly and scientists aren't convinced the cap that stopped the flow last week is making things worse."

"Dozens of endangered sea turtle eggs have been moved to Florida's Atlantic coast to protect them from the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said on Friday."

"The world is enduring the hottest year on record, according to a U.S. national weather analysis, causing droughts worldwide and a concern for U.S. farmers counting on another bumper year."

Some 60 investigators from the former Minerals Management Service tried to deal with 12,087 oil-related incidents in the gulf reported over the past five years. Those incidents included 30 worker deaths, 1,298 injuries, 514 fires and 23 blowouts that left wells out of control. The investigations were spotty -- few resulted in big fines, and MMS let some companies investigate themselves.