Now, a team of American scientists led by Terry Hazen have shown that just a. [252][253], A study that investigated the health effects among children in Louisiana and Florida living less than 10 miles from the coast found that more than a third of the parents reported physical or mental health symptoms among their children. "[151][152], The three basic approaches for removing the oil from the water were: combustion, offshore filtration, and collection for later processing. In July 2010, it was reported that the spill was "already having a 'devastating' effect on marine life in the Gulf". [300][301], Hayward's involvement in Deepwater Horizon has left him a highly controversial public figure. In addition, links for additional information on the spill, cleanup activities and other responses are provided below. [172], The FAA denied that BP employees or contractors made decisions on flights and access, saying those decisions were made by the FAA and Coast Guard. What resulted from this one incident was an economic, political, scientific and legal nightmare. On April 20, 2010, the oil drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, operating in the Macondo Prospect in the Gulf of Mexico, exploded and sank resulting in the death of 11 workers on the Deepwater Horizon and the largest spill of oil in the history of marine oil drilling operations. Oil spill accidents occur several times in the Indonesian sea, including Jakarta Bay. [89], On 3 September 2010, the 300-ton failed blowout preventer was removed from the well and a replacement blowout preventer was installed. As many as 8.3 billion oysters were lost. [176] The Coast Guard and BP denied having a policy of restricting journalists; they noted that members of the media had been embedded with the authorities and allowed to cover response efforts since the beginning of the effort, with more than 400 embeds aboard boats and aircraft to date. The well is situated in the Macondo Prospect in Mississippi Canyon Block 253 (MC253) of the Gulf of Mexico, in the United States' exclusive economic zone. As of January2013[update], 935personnel were still involved. Let us know. [156] In mid-June 2010, BP ordered 32machines that separate oil and water, with each machine capable of extracting up to 2,000bbl/d (320m3/d). 951 bacterial subfamilies, which, possibly about 16 types contributed to the degradation. You may remember the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that happened in 2010, where 3.19 million barrels of oil spilled off the Gulf of Mexico. [59] The Republic of the Marshall Islands Maritime Administrator conducted a separate investigation on the marine casualty. [60], Concerns were raised about the appearance of underwater, horizontally extended plumes of dissolved oil. Benthic and highly productive habitats such as marshes and coastal wetlands in the affected areas were contaminated with crude oil and other petroleum by products; they are harmful to many of the organisms that thrive there [2]. Air concentrations of volatile organic compounds and PAHs never exceeded permissible exposure levels. The oil well was capped three months later, after 24/7 news coverage. In the November 2012 resolution of the federal charges against it, BP agreed to plead guilty to 11 felony counts related to the deaths of the 11 workers and paid a $4billion fine. On October 5, 2015, we proposed a comprehensive, integrated, ecosystem restoration plan to address impacts from the spill to the Gulf of Mexico. [146], Underwater injection of Corexit into the leak may have created the oil plumes which were discovered below the surface. [278], On 30 April, President Obama dispatched the Secretaries of the Department of Interior and Homeland Security, as well as the EPA Administrator and NOAA to the Gulf Coast to assess the disaster. The report also states that a central cause of the blowout was failure of a cement barrier allowing hydrocarbons to flow up the wellbore, through the riser and onto the rig, resulting in the blowout. Thus, oil that would normally rise to the surface of the water was emulsified into tiny droplets and remained suspended in the water and on the sea floor. [340] BP says that it has $9.5billion in assets set aside in a trust to pay the claims, and the settlement will not increase the $37.2billion the company budgeted for spill-related expenses. It fouled the coasts of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas and launched a six-year long environmental and legal battle. This webpage is limited to EPAs enforcement-related activities only, and does not cover all legal or other actions against BP Exploration & Production and other parties for the spill, such as private party/class action settlements for medical claims and economic damages, or other actions against those responsible for the spill. That 80 percent resulted in $5.3 billion going to the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Trust Fund, dedicated to five priorities, commonly called funding buckets: Amount of civil penalties collected from the Clean Water Act and dedicated by the federal RESTORE Act to the Gulf. API announced the creation of an offshore safety institute, separate from API's lobbying operation. Bioaugmentation is the inoculation of a relatively small amount of oil-degrading microbes into an affected area. The North American Wetlands Conservation Fund received $100 million from the court fines to support projects on wetlands restoration and conservation in the United States, Canada and Mexico. [113] On the most demanding day, 47,849 people were assigned on the response works and over 6,000 Marine vessels, 82 helicopters, and 20 fixed-wing aircraft were involved. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS This was described as a "sick joke" and "a very serious error of judgement" by Friends of the Earth Scotland. Aquatic birds are immobilized by the oil because the oil penetrates the porous feathers and therefore affecting their ability to catch air. The gas released caused an enormous underwater explosion that sadly took 11 lives and injured 17 others. On beaches the main techniques were sifting sand, removing tar balls, and digging out tar mats manually or by using mechanical devices. Calling the vicinity of the spill "one of the most productive ocean ecosystems in the world", the study found that even at very low concentrations "PAH cardiotoxicity was potentially a common form of injury among a broad range of species in the vicinity of the oil. "The Impact of the BP Oil Spill on Visitor Spending in Louisiana: Revised estimates based on data through 2010 Q4, Prepared for the Louisiana Office of Tourism", "Summary of Information concerning the Ecological and Economic Impacts of the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Disaster", "BP costs for oil spill response pass $3billion", "Smaller BP's profits down as oil spill trial looms", "Time to scrap BP brand? These numbers, coupled with the National Audubon Society scientists' observations of bird colonies and bird mortality well after the acute phase, have led scientists to conclude that more than one million birds ultimately succumbed to the lethal effects of the Gulf oil spill. The loss of life and the subsequent pollution of the Gulf of Mexico were the result of poor risk management, lastminute changes to plans, failure to observe and respond to critical indicators, inadequate well control response, and insufficient emergency bridge response training by companies and individuals responsible for drilling at the Macondo well and for the operation of the drilling platform. If that proves to be the case, the sheen can be expected to eventually disappear. [250] In 2013, during the three-day "Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill & Ecosystem Science Conference",[251] findings discussed included a '"significant percentage" of Gulf residents reporting mental health problems like anxiety, depression and PTSD. This settlement concludes the largest civil settlement ever awarded. The oil rig involved in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was owned and operated by offshore oil-drilling company Transocean and leased by the oil company BP. "[304], The U.S. government rejected offers of cleanup help from Canada, Croatia, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United Nations. [147] One plume was 22mi (35km) long, more than 1mi (1,600m) wide and 650ft (200m) deep. [112] The report led by the Department of the Interior and the NOAA said that "75% [of oil] has been cleaned up by Man or Mother Nature"; however, only about 25% of released oil was collected or removed while about 75% of oil remained in the environment in one form or another. But this was only the start of the disaster. So began an 87-day oil spill that spewed 3.19 million barrels, or nearly 134 million gallons, into the Gulf of Mexico. People living for at least 60 days along oil-impacted shores or involved in the clean-up who can document one or more specific health conditions caused by the oil or dispersants are eligible for benefits, as are those injured during clean-up. (1 May 2010). 4 million barrels of oil flowed from the damaged Macondo well over an 87-day period, before it was finally capped on July . [198][212][213] By 2013, over 650 dolphins had been found stranded in the oil spill area, a four-fold increase over the historical average. This page was last edited on 27 December 2012, at 05:17. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (also referred to as the "BP oil spill") was an industrial disaster that began on 20 April 2010 off of the coast of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect,[6][7][8][9] considered to be the largest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry and estimated to be 8 to 31 percent larger in volume than the previous largest, the Ixtoc I oil spill, also in the Gulf of Mexico. Review of 10 later hospitalizations found that heat exposure and dehydration were consistent findings but could not establish chemical exposure. The defective BOP and the capping stack were removed in early September and replaced by a functioning BOP. [173][174][175] Restrictions were to prevent civilian air traffic from interfering with aircraft assisting the response effort. The first one is increasing the surface area through emulsification. [359], On 4 September 2014, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier ruled BP was guilty of gross negligence and willful misconduct. [59], It was estimated with plus-or-minus 10% uncertainty that 4.9Mbbl (780,000m3) of oil was released from the well; 4.1Mbbl (650,000m3) of oil went into the Gulf. [154], Oil was collected from water by using skimmers. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. How Microbes Clean up Oil: Lessons From the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. [59] As of January2011[update], tar balls, oil sheen trails, fouled wetlands marsh grass and coastal sands were still evident. [357][358] According to The Wall Street Journal the U.S. government and Gulf Coast states had prepared an offer to BP for a $16billion settlement. Fish and Wildlife Service rescued animals to help with the spill cleanup, although there were many animals found dead. [227], A 2014 bluefin tuna study in Science found that oil already broken down by wave action and chemical dispersants was more toxic than fresh oil. [273] On 3 May California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger withdrew his support for a proposed plan to allow expanded offshore drilling projects in California. The result could have long-term effects because oil could remain in the food chain for generations. The deal would settle roughly 100,000 claims filed by individuals and businesses affected by the spill. [23][24][25] As of 2018[update], cleanup costs, charges and penalties had cost the company more than $65billion. [130] Environmental scientists expressed concerns that the dispersants add to the toxicity of a spill, increasing the threat to sea turtles and bluefin tuna. [232], By June 2010, 143spill-exposure cases had been reported to the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals; 108 of those involved workers in the clean-up efforts, while 35 were reported by residents. Washington, DC 20036. This oil sheen decreases the amount of sunlight reaching organisms in the water and forms a barrier between the air and water, blocking oxygen and other necessary nutrients from diffusing into the water. . [303] The student body president expressed that students would be "very disappointed. Microbial Activities and Dissolved Organic Matter Dynamics in Oil-Contaminated Surface Seawater from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Site. PLoS One, 2012, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0034816, (9) Mulet, M., David, Z., Nogales, B., Bosch, R., Lalucat, J. and Garcia-Valdes, E. Pseudomonas Diversity in Crude-Oil-Contaminated Intertidal Sand Samples Obtained after the Prestige Oil Spill. Appl Environ Microbiol, 2011, DOI: 10.1128/AEM.01741-10, (10) Boopathy, R., Shields, S. and Nunna, S. Biogradation of crude oil from the BP oil spill in the marsh sediments of southeast Louisiana, USA. Appl Biochem Biotechnol, 2012, DOI: NA, (11) Atlas, R. Oil Biodegradation and Bioremediation: A tale of the Two Worst Spills in U.S. History. Environ Sci Technol, 2011, DOI: 10.1021/es2013227, Figure 1: http://www.birdeducation.org/BENBulletin32.htm, Figure 2: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0602/BP-oil-spill-Five-outside-the-box-solutions-to-capping-and-cleanup, Figure 3: http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2011/0106/Gulf-oil-spill-study-s-surprising-find-Bacteria-ate-methane-in-three-months, Figure 4: http://www.thelmagazine.com/TheMeasure/archives/2010/05/24/your-pictures-of-the-bp-oil-spill-making-landfall-are-here-and-just-as-hopelessly-tragic-as-youd-feared, From MicrobeWiki, the student-edited microbiology resource, Specific strain of microbes capable of hydrocarbon degradation, Possible topics for further research and direction, http://www.birdeducation.org/BENBulletin32.htm, http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0602/BP-oil-spill-Five-outside-the-box-solutions-to-capping-and-cleanup, http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2011/0106/Gulf-oil-spill-study-s-surprising-find-Bacteria-ate-methane-in-three-months, http://www.thelmagazine.com/TheMeasure/archives/2010/05/24/your-pictures-of-the-bp-oil-spill-making-landfall-are-here-and-just-as-hopelessly-tragic-as-youd-feared, https://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php?title=Microbial_Response_to_Deepwater_Horizon_Oil_Spill&oldid=79090. On September 17 the bottom kill maneuver was successfully executed through the first relief well. As oil and gas, shipping, and tourism activities increase, the possibilities of an oil spill also increase. [335] The firms deny the allegations. [209] Some estimates are that only 2% of the carcasses of killed mammals have been recovered. GSF Development Driller II started drilling a second relief on 16 May 2010. In the case of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, clean-up workers treated the oil with over 1.4 million gallons of various chemical dispersants. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill occurred after a surge of natural gas blasted through a concrete core recently installed to seal an oil well for later use. [18][19], Numerous investigations explored the causes of the explosion and record-setting spill. Fish are intoxicated by the petroleum products and are unable to cope with the stress. On August 3 BP conducted a static kill, a procedure in which drilling mud was pumped into the well through the BOP. $7.1 billion for restoration stretching more than 15 years beginning in 2017. Mac McClelland for Mother Jones, 24 May 2010. [287] The American Petroleum Institute (API) stated that the offshore drilling industry is important to job creation and economic growth. The goal of the $500 million, 10-year research initiative, known as the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative offsite link (GoMRI), is to improve understanding of spill events and associated environmental stresses and public health implications. BP strongly disagreed with the ruling and filed an immediate appeal. Updates? Offshore Oil Drilling, "Spike Reported in Number of Stillborn Dolphins on Coast", "Half of bottlenose dolphins in Barataria Bay were seriously ill or dying in 2011, new study finds", "Gulf Dolphins Exposed to Oil Are Seriously Ill, Agency Says", "Restoring A Degraded Gulf of Mexico National Wildlife Federation", "How You Can Help Wildlife Impacted by the BP Oil Spill National Wildlife Federation", "BP Oil Spill: Dolphins Plagued By Death, Disease Years After Rig Explosion", "Dolphins 'suffering miscarriage, lung disease, losing teeth after BP oil spill' researchers claim", "About 565,000 pounds of oiled material from Deepwater Horizon stirred up by Hurricane Isaac", "Tropical Storm Lee surge reveals tar mats on Fourchon Beach", "Discovery of 'tar mat' prompts Gulf closure", "Three Years After the BP Spill, Tar Balls and Oil Sheen Blight Gulf Coast", Gulf of Mexico, since the BP Oil Spill of 2010 April, "AP: BP oil not degrading on Gulf floor, study says", "Study: "Dirty bathtub" buried oil from BP spill", "Tuna study reveals how pollution causes heart problems", "Dispersant Used to Clean Deepwater Horizon Spill More Toxic to Corals Than the Oil", Spike In Dolphin Deaths Directly Tied To Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Researchers Say, Study Links Dolphin Deaths to Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, "Hundreds of baby dolphin deaths tied to BP's Gulf oil spill", "Louisiana DHH Releases Oil Spill-Related Exposure Information", "Is This Oil Spill Solution Worse Than The Problem? beethoven romantic era pieces, From this one incident was an economic, political, scientific and legal nightmare 24 May.! 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