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Essay about Psychological Health Effects of Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill

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Introduction Oil spills happens every year through cleaning of tankers. These spills contribute more petro-pollutants to the ocean than offshore rig blowouts though less attention is generated when compared to blowouts of oil rigs (Nadakavukaren, 2006). Whenever there is a rig blowout or tanker spill, far more attention is attracted as in the case of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The Gulf of Mexico oil spill is an oil spill that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico with oil spilling for three months in 2010. This spill generated a lot of attention and the EPA is monitoring the air, water, sediments and waste management data so as to protect people from this environmental disaster “The EPA has an active oil spill prevention program which focuses …show more content…

There were five human errors that were generated by NOLA from 100 hours of testimony before a federal investigative panel. These human errors were: Fewer barriers to gas flow, fewer centralizers to keep cement even, no bond log to test cement integrity, mud barrier removed early and pressure test misinterpreted which ultimately led to the failure of the blowout preventer. These are maintenance issues that were neglected “According to a separate 112-page equipment assessment also commissioned by Transocean, many of the components-including the blowout preventer and fail safe valves had not been fully inspected since 2000, even though guidelines require inspection of the preventer every three to five years” (NY Times, 2010). Since BP was planning to disconnect the well and move to another well, a company (Halliburton) was hired to cement the wells. The quality of cement and the seal used were questionable “BP and congressional investigators have raised questions about the cementing suggesting that the seal might have been faulty and failed to keep gas from rising up in the well” (NY Times, 2010). Dissipation and Areas Affected The spread of oil to the shorelines can be due to a series of factors. The weather might have played a part in the spread of the oil since strong winds

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