Oil Workers Are Dying in Mysterious Circumstances

Investigations are underway to explore a new pattern.

By Brenda SalinasApril 24, 2015 8:49 am

Ten oil workers have died under mysterious circumstances over the last decade across the country. Each one was doing a job that involved climbing on top of a catwalk strung between rows of storage tanks. Later, their bodies were found lying on top of or near the tanks.

So far, no one says they’ve witnessed the deaths, and there’s no tape to review. Medical examiners generally attribute the deaths to natural causes – often heart failure.

But Alexandra Berzon of The Wall Street Journal reports that industry-safety executives are now investigating whether hydrocarbon chemicals played a role in their deaths. She joins the Texas Standard to talk about this new theory.