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Deepwater Horizon Disaster
5
The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
By: Evan Fisher-Perez
Introduction
Date:
April 20th 2010
Amount of Oil Spilled:
BP estimated 1,000 barrels a day. US Government estimated 60,000 barrels a day
Location:
Gulf of Mexico, 41 miles off the coast of Louisiana
What was the Deepwater Oil Spill?
Liable Party:
BP oil company
Damage Spread:
Oil slick extended 57,000 square miles
Source: Pallardy (2020)
April 21 2010
Fireboats trying to extinguish Deepwater Horizon oil rig April 21st 2010
Photo: U.S. Coast Gaurd
May 6 2010
Above the oil wellhead May 6th 2010
Photo: Daniel Beltrá
May 24 2010
Satellite image of oil spill May 24th 2010
Photo: NASA's Terra Satellite
Qualities of A Technological Disaster
Loss of Life
Destruction of Property
Type of Disaster
Result of Human Action or Error
The Loss of Life
Photo: Yuki Kokubo
Topic
- The explosion of the rig killed 11 and injured 19 (Pallardy, 2020)
- "The oil was toxic to a wide range of organisms; including plankton, invertebrates, fish, birds,and sea mammals, causing a wide array of adverse effects such as reduced growth, disease, impaired reproduction, impaired physiological health, and mortality" (Beyer et al., 2016)
Human Action or Error
Photo: BP
Topic
- Spill attributed to lack of oversight by the government and time-saving measures by BP and its partners (Pallardy, 2020)
- In 2020, "the former members of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling noted that the U.S. Congress had failed to act on most of the recommendations in the final report" (Pallardy, 2020)
Destruction of Property
Photo: Sean Gardner
Topic
- The oil spill disrupted the prominent fishing industry, destroyed local ecosystems, and caused significant death of local wildlife (Grattan et al., 2011)
- "More than a third of federal waters in the gulf were closed to fishing at the peak of the spill, due to fears of contamination" (Pallardy, 2020)
Effect on Environment
Effect on Humans
The Altered Landscape
Photo: Liountmila Korelidou
Photo: NIEHS
Mental Health
Hopelessness
Locals showed clinically significant levels depression and anxiety
People in the area of the disaster were more likely to use behavioral disengagement as a coping strategy
Photo: Mario Tama
Photo: Infrogmation/Wikimedia Commons
Distrust
Mass Fear
Even when provided help locals would be hesitant fearing that the source was BP
"98–100% of study participants as a whole worried about the impacts of the oil spill on the environment, seafood safety, and human health"
Photo: Lee Celano
Source: Grattan et al., 2011
Birds
Coral
"At one coral site 6 km south of the wellhead, more than 90% of the assessed coral colonies showed sign of injury"
"Seabirds are susceptible to increased rates of mortality if they contact oil, and are usually the most numerous vertebrates found dead following spills"
Photo: Charlie Riedel
Photo: White et al., 2012
Fish
Mammals
"Embryonic exposures to DWH oil caused a suite of developmental defects and cardiotoxicity characteristic of PAH toxicity in a variety of fish species"
"Unprecedented deaths and increased strandings have been interpreted as a possible indicator of the low overall health and condition of local and regional sea mammal populations"
Photo: Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
Photo: Sean Gardner
Source: Beyer et al., 2016
References
- Beyer, J., Trannum, H. C., Bakke, T., Hodson, P. V., & Collier, T. K. (2016). Environmental effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill: A review. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 110(1), 28–51.
- Grattan, L. M., Roberts, S., Mahan, W. T., McLaughlin, P. K., Otwell, W. S., & Morris, J. G. (2011). The early psychological impacts of the deepwater horizon oil spill on Florida and Alabama communities. Environmental Health Perspectives, 119(6), 838–843. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1002915
- Pallardy, R. (2020). Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved February 17, 2023, from https://www.britannica.com/event/Deepwater-Horizon-oil-spill