BP Commits $20 Billion to Spill Claims Fund
After top officials met today at the White House with the president, the company announced it will inject $5 billion this year and $1.25 billion quarterly thereafter until the full amount is reached.
A reversal by top officials of BP today is more bad news for its shareholders but at the same time the good news for which Gulf Coast residents, workers, and officials have been asking since April 20. After top company officials met today at the White House with the president, BP announced it will create a $20 billion fund to pay spill claims by injecting $5 billion this year and $1.25 billion quaterly until the full amount is reached. BP will recover whatever sum is left in the fund, if any, after all legitimate claims are paid, it said. The company's annoucement said BP's dividend will not be paid for the rest of 2010, an about-face from BP's stance until now.
BP continues to work on a relief well to stop the flow of oil and gas from the broken well resulting from the Deepwater Horizon explosion and fire almost two months ago. BP continues to provide updates on the response and cleanup at www.bp.com.
OSHA's oil spill cleanup website offers information about hazards that cleanup workers may encounter; a booklet done in partnership with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; training requirements for cleanup jobs; fact sheets in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese; links to relevant standards; contact information for OSHA offices in Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama; and more.