The 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico awakened communities to the increased risk of large-scale damage along their coastlines presented by new technology in deep water drilling. Normal accident theory and high reliability theory offer a framework through which to view the 2010 spill that features predictive criteria linked to a qualitative assessment of risk presented by technology and organizations. The 2010 spill took place in a sociotechnical system that can be described as complex and tightly coupled, and therefore prone to normal accidents. However, the entities in charge of managing this technology lacked the organizational capacity to safely operate within this sociotechnical system.
","abstract_html":"<p>The 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico awakened communities to the increased risk of large-scale damage along their coastlines presented by new technology in deep water drilling. Normal accident theory and high reliability theory offer a framework through which to view the 2010 spill that features predictive criteria linked to a qualitative assessment of risk presented by technology and organizations. The 2010 spill took place in a sociotechnical system that can be described as complex and tightly coupled, and therefore prone to normal accidents. However, the entities in charge of managing this technology lacked the organizational capacity to safely operate within this sociotechnical system.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Cade, Evelyn"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.U.R.P.","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Planning and Urban Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Nance, Earthea, PhD","Ehrenfeucht, Renia, PhD; Birkland, Thomas, PhD"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-05-17T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2013-05-17T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:29:47Z","subjects":["normal accident","high reliability","Gulf of Mexico","technological disaster","BP oil spill","environmental impacts","Energy Policy","Environmental Policy","Public Administration","Science and Technology Policy","Science and Technology Studies","Theory, Knowledge and Science","Urban Studies and Planning","Work, Economy and Organizations"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1614","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Nance, Earthea, PhD","Ehrenfeucht, Renia, PhD; Birkland, Thomas, PhD"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Cade, Evelyn"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2013-04-08T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Planning and Urban Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.U.R.P."]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["normal accident","high reliability","Gulf of Mexico","technological disaster","BP oil spill","environmental impacts","Energy Policy","Environmental Policy","Public Administration","Science and Technology Policy","Science and Technology Studies","Theory, Knowledge and Science","Urban Studies and Planning","Work, Economy and Organizations"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1614"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico awakened communities to the increased risk of large-scale damage along their coastlines presented by new technology in deep water drilling. Normal accident theory and high reliability theory offer a framework through which to view the 2010 spill that features predictive criteria linked to a qualitative assessment of risk presented by technology and organizations. The 2010 spill took place in a sociotechnical system that can be described as complex and tightly coupled, and therefore prone to normal accidents. However, the entities in charge of managing this technology lacked the organizational capacity to safely operate within this sociotechnical system.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Risk, Oil Spills, and Governance: Can Organizational Theory Help Us Understand the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill?"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Nance, Earthea, PhD","Ehrenfeucht, Renia, PhD; Birkland, Thomas, PhD"],"dc:creator":["Cade, Evelyn"],"dc:date.available":["2013-04-08T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico awakened communities to the increased risk of large-scale damage along their coastlines presented by new technology in deep water drilling. Normal accident theory and high reliability theory offer a framework through which to view the 2010 spill that features predictive criteria linked to a qualitative assessment of risk presented by technology and organizations. The 2010 spill took place in a sociotechnical system that can be described as complex and tightly coupled, and therefore prone to normal accidents. However, the entities in charge of managing this technology lacked the organizational capacity to safely operate within this sociotechnical system.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1614"],"dc:subject":["normal accident","high reliability","Gulf of Mexico","technological disaster","BP oil spill","environmental impacts","Energy Policy","Environmental Policy","Public Administration","Science and Technology Policy","Science and Technology Studies","Theory, Knowledge and Science","Urban Studies and Planning","Work, Economy and Organizations"],"dc:title":["Risk, Oil Spills, and Governance: Can Organizational Theory Help Us Understand the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill?"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Planning and Urban Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.U.R.P."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:29:47Z"}