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Damage From the BP Oil Spill, Research Paper Example
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Background
On April 20th, 2010, an explosion on an oil drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico was the beginning of what would be the largest accidental oil spill in history. Fifteen people were hurt and eleven men were never found after the explosion, facts which many people lost sight of in the greater impact of the accident, as oil from the sea floor gushed into the Gulf for months, and attempts to seal the well failed.
The initial explosion occurred when methane gas from below the sea floor, under extremely high pressure, blew up and through the drill column. Reaching the platform, it ignited and created the explosion. In less than two days, the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, in operation through British Petroleum (BP) and in cooperation with the contractor Transocean, Ltd., was lost to raging fires and sank. An estimated average of 53,000 barrels of oil per day were released into the Gulf waters for months, and daily headlines reported repeated and unsuccessful efforts from BP, in cooperation with the United States government, to seal the sea floor breach.
Efforts to close the ruptured well ranged from attempts to fix existing valves, to setting a containment dome over the gushing and funneling the oil safely to a storage vessel. These did not succeed. Finally, a relief well, drilled to divert the spillage from the original breach, allowed workers to effectively cap the first well. This occurred on September 19th, nearly five months after the Deepwater explosion.
Impact and Consequences
Given how recently the accident occurred, as well as how nothing of its size or duration had occurred before, there are still only estimates as to what the total impact will amount to, both in terms of cost and in how the spill affected other industries and marine life in the area. In a very real sense, the oil in the gulf had, and will continue to have, a profound effect on life in general in the southern States bordering the Gulf. Public health issues, the seafood and tourism industries, and ecological concerns all interconnect with one another, and the real damages can’t yet be known. “The effect of this much oil on a community so dependent upon the Gulf waters will be far-reaching and pronounced, leading many to describe the situation…as an oil disaster rather than an oil spill” (McCoy, Salerno 2).
From the start of the disaster, two main concerns were increasingly urgent: tourism and the fishing industries. As the spill continued daily, all people knew was that their livelihoods were seriously threatened; no one could put a total dollar figure on the likely losses, as the damage was ongoing and the effects not yet known. However, the general consensus was that many billions would be lost and, in efforts to soothe an angry public, announcements of coming aid were broadcast: “BP pledged to put up a $20 billion contingency fund to cover damages to the Gulf and its people…” (Lehner, Deans 18). Even this, however, is a greatly estimated figure of what the costs of the damages may amount to.
It is virtually impossible to gauge how badly tourism, particularly for Florida, suffered from the spill in terms of dollar value. The industry is huge for the state, bringing in billions every year, and through related industries: “Tourist-related sales in the beach areas of Florida amount to over $10 billion per year…” (Becken, Hay 126). Soon after April 20th, however, footage of oil washing onto the beaches and beading on the sand was on all the major news stations. Online, videos were posted on Youtube showing tourists trying to step between the patches of oil. Estimates of how badly Florida’s tourism was hurt range from $20 to $40 billion.
As for the seafood industries, some help for workers was available when money from BP and the government was used to pay them to aid in clean-up. Nonetheless, as the figures on losses become more definite, the cost tally rises. In June of 2010, the best assessment was this: “The final total of the bill, including liabilities, has been estimated at…$60 billion if the leak continues into August as expected…” (Hiles 623). It is likely that costs will amount to well over $100 billion.
Future Prevention
In the aftermath of Deepwater Horizon, experts and officials agree that tighter regulatory controls, along with more experienced technicians, could have avoided the disaster. This mentality is also the chief element in strategies to prevent such spills from occurring again.
Equipment updates and modifications are definitely called for, as new technology could prevent what was the foreseeable event of the methane gas surging to the platform and catching fire. Unfortunately, the same experts who are calling for these upgrades admit that the expense could drive petroleum companies out of business. As costly as the Gulf spill was, drilling for oil is an enormously expensive process even when it goes well, and re-outfitting rigs to ensure safety would translate to greatly increased oil prices to the public. This would arise from, again, only those companies large enough to be able to afford the upgrades to begin with.
Meanwhile, the U.S. government has taken action, at least in terms of demanding preventive measures. In May, while the Gulf spill was out of control, President Obama created the bipartisan National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling. The commission’s job is to uncover and investigate whatever inspection and safety protocols set into place in future operations.
The legacy of the Gulf spill of 2010 will most definitely be with the nation and the world for a long time to come. Not only were vital industries crippled and lives lost, the explosion and five-month flow of crude oil into the Gulf had a devastating impact on the ecology of the region. As the Gulf of Mexico influences other natural environments, there is no knowing yet how the damage will alter and/or harm ecosystems elsewhere.
Works Cited
Becken, S., and Hay, J. E. Tourism and Climate Change: Risks and Opportunities. Buffalo, NY: Channel View Publications, 2007. Print.
Hiles, A. The Definitive Handbook of Business Continuity Management. West Sussex, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., 2010. Print.
Lehner, P., and Deans, B. Deepwater Horizon: The Oil Disaster, Its Aftermath, and Out Future. United States: OR Books, 2010. Print.
McCoy, M. A., and Salerno, J. A. IOM (Institute of Medicine), 2010. Assessing the Effects of the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill on Human Health: A Summary of the June 2010 Workshop. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press. Print.
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