In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill polluted the waters of what body of water?

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (also referred to as the BP oil spill) began on April 20, 2010, in the Gulf of Mexico. Killing eleven people, it is considered the largest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry and estimated to be 8% to 31% larger in volume than the previous largest, the Ixtoc I oil spill. Itoxic I was an exploratory well being drilled at the time. The US Government estimated the total discharge at 4.9 million barrels (210 million US gal; 780,000 m3). After several failed efforts to contain the flow, the well was declared sealed on September 19, 2010.

In October 2012, BP reported that they had found and plugged leaking oil from the failed containment dome, now abandoned about 1,500 feet (460 m) from the main well. In December 2012, the USCG conducted a subsea survey; no oil coming from the wells or the wreckage was found and its source remains unknown. In addition, white, milky substance was observed seeping from the wreckage. According to BP and the USCG, it is "not oil and it's not harmful."

In January 2013, BP said that they were continuing to investigate possible sources of the oil sheen. Chemical data implied that the substance might be residual oil leaking from the wreckage. If that proves to be the case, the sheen can be expected to eventually disappear. The oil slick was comparable in size to naturally occurring oil seeps and was not large enough to pose an immediate threat to wildlife.

More Info: en.m.wikipedia.org

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27 Comments

William Laughlin

Bob Ladd, "Sad day for the oilfield"? How about a sad day for the enviroment, the fishing industry, the fauna and flora of the gulf, and the coastal towns who rely on tourism and beachgoers. BP knew about the problems with the rig long before the leak. They could have shut the well down before it failed, repaired the rig and then gone on with business as usual. Instead, based on monetary concerns, ALWAYS the most important, they chose to put the health of the Gulf at risk. They caused incalculable damage out of greed. The spill isn't fully cleaned up yet and never will be. Beach communities imported sand from other states to cover the oil stains left on their beaches. Oil slicks abound below the water's surface and have settled on the gulf's floor. BP did the least amount of clean up imaginable and spent money on ad campaigns to convince us otherwise. Now we have the orange Moron-In-Chief who wants to open up all our shorelines to drilling. Apparently we haven't learned much from the past and what we have learned will be ignored and dismissed by science deniers in Washington.

Judy Moran

williamrlaughlin, Thank you, William! You took the words right out of my mouth, but, as usual, you did a much better job. Truth!

Joe Andrel

williamrlaughlin, You should also include the chief moron in chief Mr. Obama. He refused the assistance of Maersk, the company that operates the North Sea fields, who have the vast experience and equipment concerning these events. Since they are Danish he invoked the Jones Act that precluded their involvement

Corey Taylor

And the CEO still ought to be dragged out and shot for his recklessness!

lls

...once again to the corporations: water and oil don't mix

ferrarin

Who was president when that happened? And why other than saying it's terrible that it wasn't capped sooner. Didn't he work with Mexico to get her capped of sooner? What an environmentalist What a great man.

gridirongreen

William Laughlin, with all your ostentatious proclamation of prodigious level of intellect, are you saying that you believe that oil, when mixed in water, will settle to the bottom? As the great PHD bugs bunny said, what a moroon.

gridirongreen

William Laughlin, Judy Moran, are you sure it was words that willie took out of your mouth?

wordster

Jeez, Louise, you sure you don't want to add Lake Michigan or Lake Okeefenokee to that list? Tp not know this one, you would have to have been living in a cave in Greenland for the last 9-1/2 years. Also, there are several reputable sources that have published material that basically says that BP's "story" of how harmless it all is, is in fact bovine feces. william laughlin gave you some of the actual factual details. Another example of corporate greed trumping (you'll pardon the expression) the interest of the people and the planet.