I asked the engineer about spills and he said the only spill they have is when one of the big machines sprouts an oil drip from a hose and that is fixed as soon as it is seen. The process of all those trucks lined up with those machines that put pressure down that hole, has been explained to me along with the rest of the process.
Human error can cause a problem and I was told about a few of these. This type of human error, of course, can happen with drilling a regular well. There is a huge amount of power used in drilling (and fracking) and I appreciate the effort and caution these men have to deal with every day they are on a well.
Spills are rare, low pressure leaks uncommon, and equipment failures rare as well. When they do occur (like the failed wellhead in PA on the Chesapeake well), the mess can be extensive, so critical parts are tested, subjected to NDT for flaws, and pressure tested when rigged up.
One of the first things we learn is that that iron just doesn’t care about you. It only takes a second of stupidity or letting your guard down to be mutilated or killed, and there seems to be an endless variety of ways to end up hurt or dead. In-house safety hands who know their stuff are some of the best guys to have around, and the safety programs started by companies like Nabors Drilling in the 80s have saved innumerable lives, limbs, and digits, despite initial carping about time spent on them. Pretty soon, other drilling companies followed suit.
With a huge, new, crop of rig hands, we old timers are constantly reminding them of where not to be and what not to do, and unfortunately, can often do so by recalling how others got hurt. As long as the message gets through...