Effects Of The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

On April 20th 2010 an explosion on an oil ridge of the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, was the cause of the greatest environmental disaster in history of the United States. This explosion took the lives of eleven men who were working on the ridge, and also ruptured an oil line, which dumped more than 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. This oil spill significantly affected the wildlife of the gulf coast, killing hundreds of fishes, birds, and reptile that call the gulf coast home. The spill also affected global supply chain for major industries.

On April 20, 2010, one of BP’s drilling wells below the Gulf of Mexico exploded and caused a disastrous oil spill. Thousands of barrels of crude oil flowed into the gulf every day, causing widespread pollution in the Gulf of Mexico (Law Brain, n.d). The habitats of many bird species are threatened by this oil spill.

Regardless of their attempt, the spread of the oil to the surface and shore of the ocean was inevitable. Therefore, all marine animals were affected by the oil contamination in the Gulf of Mexico. Oil filled the blowholes and entered the lungs of dolphins and whales. This made breathing almost impossible.

Yes, losing human life was bad enough already, but we also lost a lot of oil and most importantly the spill effected the marine life. The fish, turtles and birds that were in the area, were all drenched in the oil, majority of it didn’t survive. The fish that have survived, where infected/affected by the chemicals. As we all know oil does not stay in one area, it spreads like butter on the hot skillet, effecting even larger marine life area than expected. Obviously BP and people responsible for the spill have faced numerous fine and conducted numerous operations to clean up the mess, but it is almost impossible. As time progressed, some oil eventually sunk to the bottom, which effected coral and food that fish eat. According to CNN, “Scientists continue to study environmental impacts, but five years after the spill, the long-term negative effects remain unclear and are, in many cases, highly disputed.”(Griffin et al., 2015, para.

The oil spill created long term problems for the living organisms that inhabit the Gulf of Mexico. The oil covered the feathers of birds, making them unable to float at the surface. The oil killed some of the deep sea coral as far as seven miles away from the site. Mammals ingested the oil, which resulted in some of the mammals having internal bleeding and ulcers. This has also lead to an increase in sea turtles stranding, sick dolphins, and a decrease in population of many marine animals. This disaster stuck during the breeding season for many species of wildlife. “The oil’s toxicity may have hit egg and larval organisms immediately”, which could have wiping out those age classes. Population dips and cascading food web has occurred due to

Back in the spring of 2010, the Gulf of Mexico experienced the worst oil spill in U.S history as a result of an explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon Oil rig. On April 10th the hazardous accident had already killed 11 people, deformed and killed countless numbers of marine wildlife, and leaked 3.19 million barrels of oil that spread about 42 miles off the coast of Louisiana. Even though the well was located within the deep sea (the lowest part of the ocean that accounts for most of the water on Earth) the ecosystem suffered heavily from it. For instance, it has been reported that over 335 dolphins died, hundreds of sea turtles washed up on the shore soaked in oil, and hundreds of seabirds drowned or starved from not being able to fly,

The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill occurred on April 20, 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico. This oil spill was the largest spill in history in front of the Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989. This oil spill released about 4.9 million barrels of oil into the ocean. This spill not only wreck havoc on the marine life but also the economic players that depended on ocean such as fisherman, tourism, and offshore drilling located along the gulf coast. Along will the spill the oil rig which was named Deepwater Horizon also went up in flames. This proved that the issue went far beyond just an oil rig that blew a line. Since this oil spill had drastic impacts all along the coast, BP which was the most liable for this incident faced criminal charges based on what happened. BP which knew the risks of deep ocean drilling failed to take the necessary safety procedures to reduce the risks of such incident occurring, thus was the reasoning behind placing most of the fault on them and not the other companies. The lack of regulatory oversight led to the issues and cost-cutting procedures opened the rig up to possible malfunctions like the one that occurred. During the spill into the gulf, BP sealed the well with cement which seemed to stop a majority of the oil from escaping the well. BP also recognized that the well was “dead” which was proven wrong when scientists still could conclude was leaking minor amounts of oil into the ocean. This spill not only proved to be harmful to the environment but also

oil spill happened five years ago and nearly 5 barrels of oil was spilt into the Gulf of Mexico. The oil spill was caused from an explosion through the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig about 40 miles off the coast of Louisiana. The main effect from this oil spill was the losses of the animals. Causing many to almost go extinct. As a result from the oil spill the earth has had—losses from pollution, the cost, and the damage of people.

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster that took place in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010 is the largest oil spill to have ever occurred in USA waters. As efforts to hold the current spill continues, the higher chances of clean up damage compensation technique, and also enhancing prevention of future oil spill responses and recovery. The rig was owned and under the operation of Transocean, a Switzerland-based offshore drilling firm, and leased to BP plc, one of the biggest oil firms in the world. The explosion and fire that led to eleven fatalities and several injuries took place despite specialized oil spill prevention equipment also known as a blowout preventer, which is designed to avert such a kind of disaster. The quantity

The BP oil was who had the spill. Shrimp, Fish, Dolphins, Birds, Turtles, and other animals were starved, killed, poisoned and there habitat was messed up and there food was killed (Friedman 29). Most of the pelicans and birds was covered in oil and made it where they can’t fly (Friedman 30).

The fish herring population crashed for four years and other fish also declined too, but the link to the oil spill has remained controversial. The scientist new study findings published in the online and suggest that the delayed effects of the spill may have been

The purpose of this paper is to examine one of the largest offshore oil spills in U.S. history, BP’s Deepwater Horizon explosion in 2010. This paper seeks to investigate closely the system and the reasons of failure, to answer the questions behind numerous studies on this accident, Is Deepwater Horizon explosion inevitable? and What can we do to avoid such accidents?

The e Deepwater Horizon oil spill at the Macondo well began on April 20, 2010, in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect. An explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig on 20 April 2010 killed 11 people and caused almost 5 million barrels of oil to flow into the Gulf of Mexico. The spill covered 68,000 square miles of land and sea and triggered a response effort involving the use of nearly 2 million gallons of dispersant chemicals (Pallardy). Considered the largest accidental marine oil spill in history, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (DHOS) resulted in widespread environmental and economic damage, the exact nature of which is only beginning to be understood (Shultz 59). This paper will address the causes of this unmitigated ecological disaster and discuss steps that need to be taken to prevent a similar disaster from occurring again.

Many have described the post-spill Gulf as a gigantic chemical experiment, with as yet unknown effect on its delicate ecosystem. By July 2010, one third of the Gulf’s fishing area—more than 80,000 square miles—had been closed, affecting the livelihood of thousands in coastal Louisiana and Mississippi.

Over 8000 animals were reported dead 6 months after the spill, including many that were on the endangered species list (7). Subsequently, seafood prices increased affecting restaurants and supermarkets. People abstained from going to beaches covered in oil, water sports and other aquatic attractions which meant that all organisations involved in tourism such as hotels, tour operators, restaurants and boat rental companies were affected (1). Furthermore, the method of cleaning up the oil by “in-situ burning” (burning oil in a contained area on the surface of the water), had adverse effects on the environment as the burning off of the oil led to mutations and increased mortality due to pollution.