Regulators failed to address problems with blowout preventers

A New York Times investigation shows that regulators knew there were problems with the blind shear ram, a "fail-safe" device intended to prevent disasters like the Deepwater Horizon blowout, yet failed to address them.  "An examination by The New York Times highlights the chasm between the oil industry’s assertions about the reliability of its blowout preventers and a more complex reality. It reveals that the federal agency charged with regulating offshore drilling, the Minerals Management Service, repeatedly declined to act on advice from its own experts on how it could minimize the risk of a blind shear ram failure."