Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
This infamous oil spill is the largest of all marine oil spills recorded in history. It occurred on April 20th, 2010, when an explosion was caused by a faulty concrete core on the oil rig. The oil rig, owned by drilling company Transocean and leased by BP, is located in the Gulf of Mexico in the Mississippi Canyon. Following the initial explosion, a large amount of natural gas surged to the top of the rig where it caught fire, killing 11 workers. By July of the same year, it was estimated that 4.9 billion gallons of oil had already leaked out of the damaged pipe system and into the ocean, despite BP's efforts to seal the pipe. The well was not completely sealed until September 17, 2010.
The cleanup efforts since this spill have been extensive. Not only did BP use 1.8 million gallons of dispersants, but they also used physical remediation. Booms were used to collect the oil and either siphon it off or burn it. These efforts, however, were not able to prevent the oil from polluting 1,100 miles of shoreline in Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, as well as numerous marshes and estuaries containing essential plant and animal life.
This event was not only devastating to the environment, but also the people who lived along the shores of the Gulf. Many areas were closed to fisherman due to fear of contamination. During the peak of the spill, up to a third of federal waters were closed. President Obama even issued a moratorium against offshore drilling, causing the loss of between 8,000 and 12,000 jobs in the Gulf. In addition to these direct effects of the oil spill, the tourism industry was also indirectly affected. Many tourists were not willing to take the risk of possibly going to an oil polluted beach.
In the wake of the spill, it was discovered that it had negatively affected the wildlife in the areal. In 2013, a study showed that about half of the dolphins in the Gulf were extremely sick with problems associated with exposure to crude oil. Birds were heavily affected as a result of them ingesting the oil while trying to clean themselves. It was estimated that 12% of the brown pelican and 30% of the laughing gull populations had been killed as a direct result of the spill. These were not the only species to be affected, by 2012, some 1,700 turtles were found dead due to causes related to the spill. Although it was not directly proven, it determined to be likely that many commercial fished species ,including tuna, were born with heart defects.
This disastrous event, in addition to the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989, has called for a response from the regulatory and scientific community. An article from Chemical and Engineering News (C&EN), Reckoning with Oil Spills by Jillian Kemsley, discusses these much needed improvement of our knowledge and regulations of oil spills. The first goal established was to increase the level of protection against an oil spill occurring in the first place. The article quotes Fran Ulmer, head of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, as saying "It doesn't matter how much oil gets into the water, you're not going to clean it all up." The Deepwater Horizon oil-spill commission believed that the regulators and the oil industry did not provide adequate prevention measures. The committee suggested that an improved blowout-preventer and the development of containment systems in deep water should be put into place on future drilling sites. Following the goal of prevention,Kemsley states that preparedness is second most important when considering the possibility of an oil spill. One of the biggest set backs in the clean up of the Exxon Valdez spill was the lack of availability of equipment to aid in clean up efforts. This could have been easily avoided had Exxon been required to ensure that equipment would be ready to deploy to the oil spill as soon as it occurred.
Efforts from the scientific community are needed in order to better understand the best strategies for oil spill remediation as well as the effects that it will have on the environment. It is essential to understand the ecosystems around active drilling sites in order to better measure the way in which it will be effected if a spill were to occur. Additionally, information about the oils themselves is invaluable in terms of future oil spill response. Christopher M. Reddy, a senior scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, told C&EN that the development of biomarkers to add to oil will be helpful in observing the way that oils are weathered and where they are able to travel to. Dispersants are another aspect of spill response that requires more research. The Coastal Response Research center continues to study the effectiveness, fate, and toxic effects of these chemicals.
The cleanup efforts since this spill have been extensive. Not only did BP use 1.8 million gallons of dispersants, but they also used physical remediation. Booms were used to collect the oil and either siphon it off or burn it. These efforts, however, were not able to prevent the oil from polluting 1,100 miles of shoreline in Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, as well as numerous marshes and estuaries containing essential plant and animal life.
This event was not only devastating to the environment, but also the people who lived along the shores of the Gulf. Many areas were closed to fisherman due to fear of contamination. During the peak of the spill, up to a third of federal waters were closed. President Obama even issued a moratorium against offshore drilling, causing the loss of between 8,000 and 12,000 jobs in the Gulf. In addition to these direct effects of the oil spill, the tourism industry was also indirectly affected. Many tourists were not willing to take the risk of possibly going to an oil polluted beach.
In the wake of the spill, it was discovered that it had negatively affected the wildlife in the areal. In 2013, a study showed that about half of the dolphins in the Gulf were extremely sick with problems associated with exposure to crude oil. Birds were heavily affected as a result of them ingesting the oil while trying to clean themselves. It was estimated that 12% of the brown pelican and 30% of the laughing gull populations had been killed as a direct result of the spill. These were not the only species to be affected, by 2012, some 1,700 turtles were found dead due to causes related to the spill. Although it was not directly proven, it determined to be likely that many commercial fished species ,including tuna, were born with heart defects.
This disastrous event, in addition to the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989, has called for a response from the regulatory and scientific community. An article from Chemical and Engineering News (C&EN), Reckoning with Oil Spills by Jillian Kemsley, discusses these much needed improvement of our knowledge and regulations of oil spills. The first goal established was to increase the level of protection against an oil spill occurring in the first place. The article quotes Fran Ulmer, head of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, as saying "It doesn't matter how much oil gets into the water, you're not going to clean it all up." The Deepwater Horizon oil-spill commission believed that the regulators and the oil industry did not provide adequate prevention measures. The committee suggested that an improved blowout-preventer and the development of containment systems in deep water should be put into place on future drilling sites. Following the goal of prevention,Kemsley states that preparedness is second most important when considering the possibility of an oil spill. One of the biggest set backs in the clean up of the Exxon Valdez spill was the lack of availability of equipment to aid in clean up efforts. This could have been easily avoided had Exxon been required to ensure that equipment would be ready to deploy to the oil spill as soon as it occurred.
Efforts from the scientific community are needed in order to better understand the best strategies for oil spill remediation as well as the effects that it will have on the environment. It is essential to understand the ecosystems around active drilling sites in order to better measure the way in which it will be effected if a spill were to occur. Additionally, information about the oils themselves is invaluable in terms of future oil spill response. Christopher M. Reddy, a senior scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, told C&EN that the development of biomarkers to add to oil will be helpful in observing the way that oils are weathered and where they are able to travel to. Dispersants are another aspect of spill response that requires more research. The Coastal Response Research center continues to study the effectiveness, fate, and toxic effects of these chemicals.
Pallardy, Richard. "Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill of 2010 | Oil Spill, Gulf of Mexico." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 1 July 2016.