UPDATE: "Industrial accident, not nuclear accident."

Breaking news this morning. This was a major decommissioning site for nuclear weapons:

One person has been killed and four injured, one seriously, by an explosion at the southern French nuclear plant of Marcoule.

There were no radioactive leaks after the blast, caused by a fire near a furnace in a radioactive waste storage site, a French nuclear official said.

A security perimeter has been set up because of the risk of leakage.

The plant produces MOX fuel, which recycles plutonium from nuclear weapons, but does not include reactors.

The explosion hit the plant at 1145 local time (0945 GMT).

"For the time being nothing has made it outside," said a spokesman for France's Atomic Energy Commission (CEA).

In today's WikiLeaks installment, everyone's favorite oil company (BP) has a blowout on a drilling platform in Azerbaijan, and later blames a "bad cement job" for the problem.

Via The Guardian, this little nugget in a series of cables concerning conflicts between the government of Azerbaijan and BP management over the blowout in September, 2008:

It has closed off a "few suspect wells" from which they think a bad cement job caused the leaking gas (which is actually good news, since had it been a reservoir leak the damage would have been potentially non-repairable, whereas now all BP has to do is fix the cement job around a few wells, a hard and expensive job to be sure, but preferable to losing the platform).

The blowout put workers in immediate danger, and sounds strikingly similar to the blowout in the Gulf of Mexico:

(C) Schrader said that the September 17th shutdown of the Central Azeri (CA) platform, in which the "red button" was pressed after detection of a gas leak on the Central Azeri Platform that led to the evacuation of 211 platform workers off the platform, was the largest such emergency evacuation in BP's history. Given the explosive potential, BP was quite fortunate to have been able to evacuate everyone safely and to prevent any gas ignition. Gas bubbles on the water's surface were no longer observed from the air by September 19th.

Other notable cables include an ongoing conflict between the Azerbaijan government and BP, including one interesting exchange where the government accuses BP of stealing "billions" from their country.

BP, in its usual bludgeoning style, limited information related to the explosion, even when dealing with the Azerbaijan government.

Oil is a huge subject in these cables. From South America to East Asia, many of the cables deal with oil companies either doing deals with governments in these countries or trying to do deals. Including Iran. In a report of a March, 2009 meeting with Iraq's Prime Minister, the following conversation is noted:

The PM said he is currently in negotiations with Chevron to develop various oil fields, to include a cross-border oil field with Iran (NFI). The PM claimed that Chevron had told him that it had already raised the issue of a cross-border development with Tehran as well. (Note: We have no independent confirmation of this; end note.) The PM asked the CDA about the political feasibility of such a deal involving a U.S. firm working both sides of a cross-border field, given current USG policies toward Iran. The CDA noted that U.S. law on sanctions would apply, but added that the Administration was reviewing its policies on Iran. PM al-Maliki said that he prefers to go with Chevron on the deal; however, he remarked that if U.S. rules prevent Chevron from doing this project, he would approach a non-American firm.

More than anything else, this last blurb makes me want to yank every single military and civilian person in Iraq out. Right now. If al-Maliki is going to do deals in partnership with Tehran and Chevron, why the heck should we finance his country's security with our blood. He's a double-dealing, two-timing shyster who should do his deals and suffer the consequences. To hell with them.

Progressive Alaska: A Planet-Wide Explosion of Religious Nutcases

Tom Scott: Journalism Warning Labels

BTC News: Thorsten Veblen hits the streets

The Brad Blog: The same touch-screen systems to be used by millions of voters this November are easily hacked, without breaking the 'tamper-evident' seals

Just An Earth-Bound Misfit: You have to wonder how the 'ground zero mosque' controversy is playing on al-Jazeera

Crooked Timber: EU-US convergence?

Open Left: Google goes "evil" - proposes killing Net Neutrality. Help fight back

Balloon Juice: Whining wingnut blames the Uncle he's in business with for the results of his poor management

OurFuture: Conservanomics: A Church Without Bishops (but its got Sarah Palin and invisible Tax Fairies!)

Attytood: "Pop" Poplawski, the high-def hucksters, and the downward cycle of violence

No More Mister Nice Blog: Hearts and Minds, GOP style

Shakesville:: The Dark Ages of America

I hope all the people who keep telling me how safe nuclear power is read this assessment. The fact is, humans make errors. Machines make errors, too. The question is, how big a risk can we afford to take?

Investigators have focused on the minute-to-minute decisions and breakdowns to understand what led to the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon, killing 11 people and setting off the largest oil spill in United States history and an environmental disaster. But the lack of coordination was not limited to the day of the explosion.

New government and BP documents, interviews with experts and testimony by witnesses provide the clearest indication to date that a hodgepodge of oversight agencies granted exceptions to rules, allowed risks to accumulate and made a disaster more likely on the rig, particularly with a mix of different companies operating on the Deepwater whose interests were not always in sync.

And in the aftermath, arguments about who is in charge of the cleanup — often a signal that no one is in charge — have led to delays, distractions and disagreements over how to cap the well and defend the coastline. As a result, with oil continuing to gush a mile below the surface in the Gulf of Mexico, the laws of physics are largely in control, creating the daunting challenge of trying to plug a hole at depths where equipment is straining under more than a ton of pressure per square inch.

Tad W. Patzek, chairman of the Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering Department at the University of Texas, Austin, has analyzed reports of what led to the explosion. “It’s a very complex operation in which the human element has not been aligned with the complexity of the system,” he said in an interview last week.

NPR is standing by their initial report that Massey Energy is being investigated for possible bribery and criminal negligence. A federal source is denying the story:

A federal law-enforcement source is denying that the Mine Safety and Health Administration is being investigated as part of a larger probe into the circumstances surrounding the Upper Big Branch mine disaster in West Virginia.

NPR has reported that Massey Energy and MSHA were the subjects of investigations.

The federal law enforcement source said: "I can say that there's an investigation but it's not about them (MSHA)."

NPR stands by its earlier report.

The original post is below:

NPR News has learned that the Mine Safety and Health Administration is one subject of a federal criminal investigation surrounding the explosion of the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia three weeks ago -- a disaster that killed 29 miners. The probe also looks at Massey Energy, the owner of the mine.

Sources familiar with the investigation say the FBI is looking into possible bribery of employees of the Mine Safety and Health Administration, the federal agency that inspects and regulates mining. The sources say FBI agents are also exploring potential criminal negligence on the part of Massey Energy, the owner of the Upper Big Branch mine.

Massey has been cited repeatedly for violations of federal safety regulations and unsubstantiated rumors have circulated for years that mine inspectors and other officials receive payoffs. The FBI declines comment and neither confirms nor denies that an investigation is ongoing.

In a statement to NPR, Massey Energy says it is not aware of the allegations, and is fully cooperating with any investigations taking place. The Mine Safety and Health Administration has yet to respond to a request for comment.

We haven't seen one of these for a long time, but they do drill a lot deeper than they used to:

NEW ORLEANS—A massive fire on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico left 11 workers missing and cast a pall over an offshore drilling boom that stands to dramatically lift U.S. energy output.

Rescuers scoured the Gulf for the unaccounted workers late Wednesday as firefighters struggled to quench a towering fire that forced all aboard to flee.

The blaze on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, which broke out around 10 p.m. central Tuesday night, thrust a geyser of flames and smoke into the sky about 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana. Seventeen people were injured, three critically, rescue officials said.

The rig is operated for oil giant BP PLC by drilling contractor Transocean Ltd., which said the search for the cause of the fire would begin after the missing had been accounted for. But Transocean said one possibility that might explain the size and ferocity of the blaze is a blow-out, an uncontrolled burst of oil and natural gas from the well.

Some industry analysts said they feared the accident might temporarily damp the pace of oil development in the deepest reaches of the Gulf, which has become a significant exploration hotspot for international oil companies seeking new sources of petroleum. The industry is booming, and has been challenged by a tight supply of rigs and skilled workers.

The accident comes at a sensitive time politically for the industry. President Obama late last month proposed allowing drilling in new areas of the eastern Gulf of Mexico and off the southern Atlantic coast, where it was banned. Supporters argue the industry has become much safer. The Transocean fire could be an untimely reminder of risks.

"Is there a domino effect from this?" asked Arun Jayaram, a Credit Suisse analyst. "It seems like there would be some collateral damage."

I have mixed feelings about this. When someone like Don Blankenship is the face of Massey Energy (it's not every day that people are calling for your CEO's arrest on homicide charges), people pay a lot more attention to what they're doing. I'd hope they're not just going to look for a kinder, gentler version of the same management style. Via Huffington Post:

The calls to oust Massey Energy Company Chairman and CEO Don Blankenship began in earnest Monday, with members of both the private and public sectors getting involved.

The CtW Investment Group sent a letter to Massey's board of directors Monday afternoon demanding Blankenship's resignation in the wake of the disastrous explosion at the company's Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia.

CtW had previously warned the board that its minimal oversight over Blankenship's regime exposed Massey and its shareholders to "unnecessary legal, regulatory, and reputational risks" -- apparently vindicated in that judgment, the investment group deems the Upper Big Branch disaster a "tragic consequence" of Blankenship's "confrontational approach to regulatory compliance."

He's not fond of investigative reporters, either. (Check out his reaction to an ABC News camera crew at about the one-minute mark in the above video.)

Earlier Monday, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli likewise called for Blankenship's resignation. And DiNapoli is no idle politico: As the sole trustee of New York's Common Retirement Fund, he has direct control over some 303,550 shares of Massey stock, valued at $14.1 million.

"Massey's cavalier attitude toward risk and callous disregard for the safety of its employees has exacted a horrible cost on dozens of hard-working miners and their loved ones," DiNapoli said in a statement. "This tragedy was a failure both of risk management and effective board oversight. Blankenship must step down and make room for more responsible leadership at Massey."

(Guest Blogged by Julia Rosen)

Our infrastructure is aging across the country, case in point the explosion in New York the other week. In Los Angeles, the workers at the Department and Water and Power have been warning for years that the DWP is just not prepared to respond to a heat wave, let alone a major disaster like a heat wave. They have no idea where the weak points in the system are, and equipment is decades past life expectancy. The DWP is vastly undermanned and it is putting the power supply and safe drinking water for millions at risk.

The workers have produced a video to draw public attention to the issue before it is too late. As one worker so bluntly puts it: "The infrastructure is on it's last legs. It is ready to take a dump."

The time to fix it is now, before the next disaster strikes. Watch the video and pass it along.

Go here for more information.

  You probably heard about the pipe explosion in NYC that killed someone. Digby, in a terrific post, explains how and why this fits into the “scourge of E. coli conservatism."

I never thought I'd see the day when it would be considered good news that a part of New York City was paralyzed, only one person died and there doesn't seem to be any asbestos floating around in the air as a result. (Or maybe not.) The problem is that it is actually very bad news and not just because of the death but because it is a sign of the rapidly decaying infrastructure that has been ignored during the conservative era in favor of free-market religion and the wonder-working powers of tax cuts.

Wednesday, in New York, a pipe installed in 1924 finally gave way and ended up killing someone. Imagine that. They built things to last in those days, but I doubt anyone ever dreamed that they would have to last for nearly a century.

This is the legacy of the past 25 years of neglect.... Watch your step.

Maybe Chertoff's "gut" could give us some indication of our national infrastructure problems.