U.S. oil spills quadrupled since 2000

Source: UPI

U.S. oil spills quadrupled since 2000
Published: June 8, 2010 at 9:38 AM


WASHINGTON, June 8 (UPI) -- Oil spills in U.S. waters from rigs and pipelines have more than quadrupled in this decade, government records show.

U.S. Minerals Management Services says the annual total of oil spills has increased from an average of four spills per year of 50 barrels or more in the 1990s to more than 17 per year from 2000 to 2009, USA Today reported Tuesday.

One barrel of oil is equal to 42 gallons, MMS says.

Figures indicate the company with the highest average number of spills this decade is oil giant BP, which has been trying to cap a well that has been spewing oil into the Gulf of Mexico since April 20.

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Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/06/08/US-oil-spills-quadrupled-since-2000/UPI-49761276004328/

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Thanks for the thread, highplainsdem.

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On Edit -

Not to leave out the coal industry:

2008 Harrimon, TN Coal Ash Spill
http://blog.cleanenergy.org/2010/06/07/evidence-mounts-as-we-wait-for-meaningful-coal-ash-regulation/


Massey Energy Upper Big Branch Coal Mine Explosion
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-04-06/massey-coal-mine-explosion-kills-25-four-missing-correct-.html

if the number of oil spills per well changed. Can the increased number of spills be correlated to an increased number of wells?

Have the spill reporting requirements changed since 2000?

I don't have any love for the oil industry but there isn't a lot of detail in that article.