The Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill 2010 is described as the worst oil disaster to have ever happened in the history of the oil industry. Also known as the Macondo Blowout, the spill continued for approximately three months unabated. The root cause of the spill was a result of an explosion of the Deepwater Horizon that drilled the BP-Macondo prospect (Eagan, 2012). The explosion was caused by the mounting build-up of natural gas that had been forcing its way up the drill pipes for several weeks before the explosion. The BP oil company received enough threat predictions but disregarded every warning for a possible disaster. In this paper, the events surrounding the spillage in the gulf and its impacts on the environment will be discussed.
It is important first of all to note that oil spillage has varying impacts on the environment depending on a number of factors. These factors include the oil composition, its quantity, the dispersal technique, as well as its contact with the organism (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2010). More than half of the coastal wetlands in the lower 48 states of America are within the Gulf of Mexico coastal region. The spillage in the gulf posed a significant loss with regard to environmental effects. It caused immense destruction to aquatic world life habitats and significantly affected the luxurious tourism industry. The oil industry was fairly blamed for the spillage for lack of safety plans to avert an occurrence of such magnitude.
The spillage was caused by an explosion of high-pressure methane gas that expanded into the drilling riser from the well (Eagan, 2012). The gas was then released on the drilling rig where it burned into flames causing a big explosion. The casualty number was however relatively low as only 11 workers were unaccounted for. The conjecture is that they burnt in the flame. Luckily, the rescue teams were prompt in saving the workers using lifeboats while others were airlifted by helicopters for medical help (Eagan, 2012).
The disaster could not have spread so fast were it not for the southerly winds that greatly increased its speed. The oil spill covered approximately 580 square miles and the most vulnerable ecological sensitive area was only 50 km away. Chandeleur islands were closely threatened by the spill and a massive destruction of the ecosystem could have occurred. Five days later, the entire spillage approximation was at 3,850 square miles (Eagan, 2012). The extent of spillage as estimated by European Space Agency reached the loop current which flows clockwise around the Gulf of Mexico towards Florida joining the Gulf Stream along the east coast of the United States of America (U.S. Department of the Interior, 2010).
According to the U.S. Department of the Interior, (2010), the leakage was the largest to have ever happened amounting to a record 4.9 million barrels of oil. The final spillage estimate was about 53,000 barrels per day although the BP had provided a lower estimate to avoid a higher fine (Thompson, 2012). Many scientist involved in the investigations on the Mexican gulf spill still maintain that a lot of undetected oil was still under the water (U.S. Department of the Interior, 2010). There are a number of regions that were greatly affected by the spillage. The Louisiana coast was one of them as well as the Mississippi and Alabama islands. At the Pensacola beach, the oil spill was visible by 9th June (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2010).
In an effort to restore the Gulf of Mexico, BP used several clean-up methods with some failing. Spreading chemical dispersants was one of the few options available. This method nonetheless has significant side effects as a research found out through examining the health of cleanup workers (Eagan, 2012). The chemical substances found in dispersants increase the chances of the workers to get exposed to carcinogens.
Removing the oil from the water was another method used to clean up the gulf by the BP Company. This involved three approaches which included filtering offshore, burning the oil, and colleting for later processing (Thompson, 2012). Burning the oil method could not proceed owing to bad conditions that could have led to greater loss. The large-scale skimmers were disadvantaged by the Environmental Protection Agency decision not to use skimming for cleaning up the spillage.
The impacts of the spillage to humans were significant especially during the cleanup process where dispersants were used. Affecting the ecological system, survival balance was greatly compromised. The oil covered and caused the death of more than 8,332 species (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2010). Oceanic life support was greatly compromised by the spillage affecting commercial activities on the coastal regions. These impacts are long-term and will influence and have an impact on many generations to come. Nonetheless, the impacts of the spillage are more of ecological than of health concerns.
The oil spillage was a massive loss to the BP and the oil industry as a whole and the impacts on the entire economy will be felt across all other industries. Due to the loss incurred, it is expected that the prices of oil will escalate and hence influence the market’s both local and internal players. These are, however, the short-term impacts. The long-term impacts will include climatic change due to the modified and damaged ecosystem.
References
Eagan, T. (2012). Odors Associated with Deepwater Horizon Gulf Oil Spill. Web.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Shorelines and Coastal Habitats in the Gulf of Mexico. (2010). Web.
Thompson, R. (2012). Sen. David Vitter takes aim at BP, Coast Guard over Gulf oil spill cleanup. Web.
U.S. Department of the Interior: BP Deepwater Horizon- After the Spill. (2010). Web.