The Progressive

NewsWire

A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact:

Julie Anderson, Food & Water Watch, (202) 683-2467, janderson@fwwatch.org or Kate Fried, (202) 683-4905, kfried@fwwatch.org

Food & Water Watch and BP Whistleblower to Specify Environmental and Health-Related Risks of Gulf Coast Atlantis Oil Platform

Food & Water Watch, a consumer advocacy organization, along with "John
Doe," a former employee at British Petroleum (BP) and a whistleblower, will be
available to speak to the media by telephone on Thursday, October 8 at 11 a.m.
EST about the environmental and health-related risks associated with the BP
Atlantis oil and gas production platform in the Gulf of Mexico. Dave Perry, the whistleblower's
attorney; Mike Sawyer, a process safety engineer; Dr.

WASHINGTON

Food & Water Watch, a consumer advocacy organization, along with "John
Doe," a former employee at British Petroleum (BP) and a whistleblower, will be
available to speak to the media by telephone on Thursday, October 8 at 11 a.m.
EST about the environmental and health-related risks associated with the BP
Atlantis oil and gas production platform in the Gulf of Mexico. Dave Perry, the whistleblower's
attorney; Mike Sawyer, a process safety engineer; Dr. Riki Ott, a marine toxicologist
and author of Not One Drop: Betrayal and
Courage in the Wake of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
; and Ronnie Anderson, a
shrimper from Houma, La., will also participate on the call.

BP Atlantis is
the largest moored floating dual oil and gas production facility in the world.
According to recent allegations from the whistleblower, BP violated federal
laws by failing to submit the proper final drawings and designs for BP
Atlantis. The lack of final, engineer-approved documentation may mean that the
platform has serious design problems and could increase the risk of
catastrophic operator errors-which, in turn, could harm platform workers, the
marine environment, and local fishing communities. The platform is located more
than 150 miles off the coast of New Orleans, La., in "Hurricane Alley." Food & Water Watch is calling on
Rep. Nick J. Rahall, II (D-W.Va.), chair of the House Natural Resources
Committee, to hold oversight
hearings to investigate BP and the Minerals Management Service's lapses during
the Bush Administration.

Event: Media Conference Call regarding the environmental and health-related
risks of the BP Atlantis oil and gas production platform in the Gulf of Mexico.

Date: Thursday, October 8, 2009

Time: 11 a.m. EST

Call In Details: Access Number: (202) 683-2494, Bridge
Number: 5117, Participant Code: 1726#

Participants: Wenonah Hauter, executive director, Food
& Water Watch; "John Doe," former employee at BP and a whistleblower; Dave
Perry, the whistleblower's attorney; Mike Sawyer, a process safety engineer; Dr.
Riki Ott, a marine toxicologist and author of Not One Drop: Betrayal and Courage in the Wake of the Exxon Valdez Oil
Spill
; andRonnie Anderson, a
shrimper from Houma, La.

Food & Water Watch mobilizes regular people to build political power to move bold and uncompromised solutions to the most pressing food, water, and climate problems of our time. We work to protect people's health, communities, and democracy from the growing destructive power of the most powerful economic interests.

(202) 683-2500