Saturday, May 01, 2010

Political and Engineering Incompetency, and Catastrophic Disasters Like the Gulf Coast Oil Rig Failure

In every state in the USA and in our Federal Government politicians make or do not make decisions about matters that they are generally unqualified to make any decision. Among these topics are physical science, engineering in general, environment, and biological sciences (including the practice of medical treatments of all kinds). The recent oilrig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico is an example of political incompetency that resulted in allowing deep sea drilling for oil to begin with. The technology involved in designing, site selection, and erecting oilrigs in the ocean is a field that virtually only a handful of legislatures at any level of state or federal governments know a gnat’s ass about. Yet, it is through political decisions that rigs are built that will inevitably fail and nothing within the technical practices of engineering can prevent the eventual failure of all deep-sea oilrigs. Furthermore, any engineered structure, device, plant, etc. has a finite life span and the possibility of a premature failure and resulting unexpected consequences is always present and will always be lurking.

Bridges collapse, auto control systems fail, propane tanks explode, water mains brake, gas lines rupture, buildings collapse, replacement hip and knee joints fail, tires blow up, bicycle frames brake, etc. The list is nearly infinite. The point is simple. Engineering is an imperfect art and application of sciences, and always will be since the interactions of any engineered product and the user and the environment within which the item is used are not quantifiable. Failure at some juncture in use will take place. Every engineer should know this reality. Many do not since the present education of engineers has become mainly a computer game. Engineers, scientists, and technicians use convenient computer programs embedded with complex equations, that they the engineers themselves do not fully understand, to solve complex problems of structural or device design. They are incapable of using the mind's eye training of engineers that has fallen by the wayside. Engineering requires an understanding of the interaction of many independent variables for which, there are no precise arithmetic equations. Hence, critical engineering judgment is necessary and present over specialized engineers and scientists are inadequately educated and experience to use their mind’s eye. This has become a progressively worsening problem. Engineers and scientists must recognize that their analyses and designs are simply estimates based upon imperfect knowledge and data. This fact is obvious to most marketers of engineered products whose product warranties limit their responsibility for failure beyond a certain period of use. However, we the public and the politicians who we elect to make decisions that are beyond their scope seem to believe differently. The common belief, based upon the claims of surprise or disbelief, is that no durable engineered products should fail. Automobiles, bridges, roadways, buildings, nuclear bombs, nuclear plant power plants, water mains, oil rigs, etc., once built are expected to last forever and/or if failure is imminent we will be tipped off in advance and avoid an unexpected consequence of the failure when it does occur. Such beliefs and expectations are pure fantasy. All engineered structures will fail and the exact moment of failure is not predictable and the consequences of failure will range from insignificant to catastrophic dependent upon the precise nature of the failure, the type of structure, and the surrounding habitation and environmental situation.

Many examples of unexpected failures of engineered plants and structures proves that the unexpected dose and will happen. The explosion at a chemical pesticide plant and release of deadly gaseous toxins in Bhopal, India over 25 years killed over 20,000 people is an example of the deadly consequences of an engineering failure. More recently, the coalmine explosion in West Virginia showed how imperfect engineering is as related to mine design and safety. The 2008 dam failure in the TVA area of Tennessee buried a nearby town with toxic coal sludge that caused severe environmental damage and long term ground water contamination with carcinogenic chemicals. The 2008 bridge failure in Minnesota that killed 13 and injured 100 people is another example of a recent unexpected failure of an engineered structure These types of unpredicted failures of engineered structures have been occurring throughout the history of engineering. Prior to and during WW II the USA Navy purchased about 4,700 Liberty Ships from about 1930 to 1942 that were used in combat on the high seas. These ships were based upon engineering know how and design of maritime vessels. Unpredictably, nearly 2,700 of these ships sunk or became useless in service because of catastrophic fractures of the welded structure often causing complete rupture of the vessel into two sections. Many hundreds of sailors perished and vital war ships were lost. In 1919 in Boston, a welded steel molasses tank holding thousands of gallons suddenly ruptured and about 21 drowned and 150 injured by the unexpected tank failure. These examples are but a few of the hundreds of thousands of engineered structures and devices that unexpectedly failed causing fatalities and sometimes severe environmental degradation. The fact that unexpected failures of major engineered structures, plants, and devices are inevitable and unpredictable is undisputable.

The populace at large, views the field of engineering as a political domain wherein all politicians are experts, and people like the new political leader, Sarah Palin have peppered the news ways with the slogan, "Drill Baby Drill". Many Republican and Democratic legislators who know nothing about engineering but pass themselves off as experts seem to know what is best technically and environmentally. Even President Obama spoke out for renewed deep sea drilling just before the recent failure of a BP oilrig in the gulf occurred and should dampen the enthusiasm for immediate drilling in the seas of US coastlines. I hope that he will rescind the approval and weigh the benefit of a small temporary output in oil production as not worth the environmental damage caused by inevitable failures of these types of structures. The fortuitous timing of this unfortunate and deadly failure may result in greater good if future deep-sea explorations are forever illegal near all of our nation’s coastal shores and other environmentally fragile areas. I hope that the politicians will stop making decisions that they are unqualified to make. They must give the responsibility for decision making to impartial technical and environmental people who understand the basics of engineering, science, and structures to make sound judgments based upon realistic engineering, scientific, and environmental and human/life risk analyses. We must not permit totally unqualified elected politicians make decisions based upon politics, expediency, or corporate profits. We have only ourselves to blame and be responsible if we do not insist on this essential change in government policy.

No comments: