Regulation students interview national officials in D.C.

The Rethinking Regulation Bass Connections project team for “Regulatory Disaster Scene Investigation” traveled in July to Washington, D.C. to interview officials with the National Transportation and Safety Board and the United States Chemical Safety Board.

Along with faculty project leader Lori Bennear, undergraduate student Kate Preston and graduate students David Cheang (Nicholas School), Jonathon Free (History),  Megan Hayes (Nicholas School), and Emily Pechar (Nicholas School) met with the officials to discuss  issues they have been researching, including a comparison of the two boards, an examination of their models in relation to European safety boards, and possible new means of accidental analysis, including the possibility of ad hoc commissions as incidents occur rather than the safety board model.

The students will incorporate the interviews with their research into working papers that look at the complications of risk analysis in addressing crises such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.