Young boys and older men with greying beards half-heartedly mixed cement and worked iron rods as we walked through the site and were shown the skeleton of a 16 classroom building.

BBC: Constant violence blocks Afghan progress

Halliburton said that the report "accurately places responsibility on BP as the well owner for its operational decisions, " which included using a heavy fluid designed to keep gas from entering the well, called drilling mud, that was "too light" and probably mixed with the cement at the bottom of the well, and drilling too narrow a well.

WSJ: Final Oil-Spill Report Chastises BP, Others

Cement is then mixed with water to form this ubiquitous material which shapes our landscapes and cities.

BBC: By Ian Hardy