deepwater horizon 20 april 2010

Deepwater Horizon oil spill
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"BP oil spill" redirects here. For the 2006 oil spill involving BP, see Prudhoe Bay oil spill. For the initial explosion, see Deepwater Horizon explosion.

Deepwater Horizon oil spill - May 24, 2010 - with locator.jpg
The oil slick as seen from space by NASA's Terra satellite on 24 May 2010
Location Gulf of Mexico near Mississippi River Delta, United States
Coordinates 28°44?17.30?N 88°21?57.40?WCoordinates: 28°44?17.30?N 88°21?57.40?W[1]
Date Spill date: 20 April – 15 July 2010
Well officially sealed: 19 September 2010
Cause
Cause Wellhead blowout
Casualties 11 dead
Operator Transocean under contract for BP[2]
Spill characteristics
Volume 4.9 million barrels (210,000,000 U.S. gallons; 780,000 cubic meters) ±10%[3]
Area 2,500 to 68,000 sq mi (6,500 to 176,100 km2)[4]
Q4000-Discoverer-Enterprise.jpg

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (also referred to as the BP oil spill, the BP oil disaster, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, and the Macondo blowout) began on 20 April 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-owned Transocean-operated Macondo Prospect. Eleven people were never found[6][7][8][9] and it is considered the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry, an estimated 8% to 31% larger in volume than the previously largest, the Ixtoc I oil spill. Following the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, a sea-floor oil gusher flowed for 87 days, until it was capped on 15 July 2010.[8][10] The US Government estimated the total discharge at 4.9 million barrels (210 million US gal; 780,000 m3).[3] After several failed efforts to contain the flow, the well was declared sealed on 19 September 2010.[11] Some reports indicate the well site continues to leak.[12][13]

A massive response ensued to protect beaches, wetlands and estuaries from the spreading oil utilizing skimmer ships, floating booms, controlled burns and 1.84 million US gallons (7,000 m3) of Corexit oil dispersant.[14] Due to the months-long spill, along with adverse effects from the response and cleanup activities, extensive damage to marine and wildlife habitats and fishing and tourism industries was reported.[15][16] In Louisiana, 4.6 million pounds of oily material was removed from the beaches in 2013, over double the amount collected in 2012. Oil cleanup crews worked four days a week on 55 miles of Louisiana shoreline throughout 2013.[17] Oil continued to be found as far from the Macondo site as the waters off the Florida Panhandle and Tampa Bay, where scientists said the oil and dispersant mixture is embedded in the sand.[18] In 2013 it was reported that dolphins and other marine life continued to die in record numbers with infant dolphins dying at six times the normal rate.[19] One study released in 2014 reported that tuna and amberjack that were exposed to oil from the spill developed deformities of the heart and other organs that would be expected to be fatal or at least life-shortening and another study found that cardiotoxicity might have been widespread in animal life exposed to the spill.[20][21]

Numerous investigations explored the causes of the explosion and record-setting spill. Notably, the U.S. government's September 2011 report pointed to defective cement on the well, faulting mostly BP, but also rig operator Transocean and contractor Halliburton.[22][23] Earlier in 2011, a White House commission likewise blamed BP and its partners for a series of cost-cutting decisions and an insufficient safety system, but also concluded that the spill resulted from "systemic" root causes and "absent significant reform in both industry practices and government policies, might well recur".[24]

In November 2012, BP and the United States Department of Justice settled federal criminal charges with BP pleading guilty to 11 counts of manslaughter, two misdemeanors, and a felony count of lying to Congress. BP also agreed to four years of government monitoring of its safety practices and ethics, and the Environmental Protection Agency announced that BP would be temporarily banned from new contracts with the US government. BP and the Department of Justice agreed to a record-setting $4.525 billion in fines and other payments[25][26][27] but further legal proceedings not expected to conclude until 2014 are ongoing to determine payouts and fines under the Clean Water Act and the Natural Resources Damage Assessment.[28][29] As of February 2013, criminal and civil settlements and payments to a trust fund had cost the company $42.2 billion.[

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepwater_Horizon_oil_spill




The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, 5 Years Later


Five years after the explosion of BP's Deepwater Horizon rig that killed 11 people and triggered the greatest oil spill in U.S. history, the company is waiting for a federal court to decide just how much it will have to pay in fines for violating the Clear Water Act.

After months of litigation, the final ruling is expected out this summer. It will set a penalty for the company ranging from $1,100 to $4,300 per barrel -- for each of the 3.19 million barrels spilled during the 87 days before the well was capped.

Last September, in the first phase of the Clean Water Act trial, the U.S. District Court for Eastern Louisiana charged BP with "gross negligence," in regards to equipment and safety precautions.

"BP was reckless," the ruling stated.

. . . .

http://abcnews.go.com/US/deepwater-horizon-oil-spill-years/story?id=30432672


5 Years After BP Oil Spill, Effects Linger And Recovery Is Slow
April 20, 2015 3:47 AM ET


Pelicans are nesting at Queen Bess Island in Barataria Bay. Five years ago, the nesting season here was marred by the oil gushing out of the Deepwater Horizon disaster.



Five years ago, BP's out-of-control oil well deep in the Gulf of Mexico exploded. Eleven workers were killed on the Deepwater Horizon rig. But it was more than a deadly accident — the blast unleashed the nation's worst offshore environmental catastrophe.

In the spring and summer of 2010, oil gushed from the Macondo well for nearly three months. More than 3 million barrels of Louisiana light crude fouled beaches and wetlands from Texas to Florida, affecting wildlife and livelihoods.

Today, the spill's impacts linger.

Buried Oil, Brought Back By The Surf

On a remote string of barrier islands off the Louisiana coast, longtime outdoorsman Bob Marshall, an environmental writer for The Lens, steers his Twin Vee catamaran toward East Grand Terre. Marshall was on this island when the oil hit the shore in 2010.

"I'll never forget the day it came in here," he says. "It was the peak nesting season in April for brown pelicans." He describes waves of reddish-orange gunk rolling in with the tide.

. . . .

http://www.npr.org/2015/04/20/400374744/5-years-after-bp-oil-spill-effects-linger-and-recovery-is-slow