It occurred.

Editor,

The theory that the oil rig's blowout protector (BOP) seems not to have kicked in after the fire and explosion is nonsense and was nonsense at the time that it was proffered by the Coast Guard officer in charge.

The fire and explosion were caused by a failure of the BOP.

The minute that rig went under the water every Navy and Coast Guard vessel with equipment to contain the spill should have been sent into the Gulf of Mexico.

Read the explanation of what a blowout is and look at pictures of what happens when a BOP fails on this page:

EnergyIndustryPhotos.com.

There is no fail-safe backup after a BOP. All that protects the environment from an exploding oil rig on which a BOP fails is how small the chance is that it will occur. Well, it occurred.

So much for "risk management," which also brought down the American economy.

re: "BP Is Criticized on Spill, but U.S. Missed Chances to Act" (5/2/2010)