Oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico

Problems

• The largest spill of oil in the history of marine oil drilling operations

  On April 20, 2010, BP’s mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon exploded, burned, and subsequently sank in the Gulf of Mexico 52 miles southeast of Venice, Louisiana. Eleven of the 126 workers on the rig were killed and, over the following 87 days, an estimated 3.19 million barrels (~134 million gallons) of oil spilled into the Gulf (4.0 million barrels minus 810,000 barrels of collected oil). This was the largest oil spill ever reported in U.S. history. In comparison, the Exxon Valdez tanker spilled approximately 257,000 barrels (11 million gallons) of crude oil into Prince William Sound, Alaska, in 1989.

• Pollution of the Mississippi River

  Oil slicks covered the Mississippi River for nearly 100 miles. Around noon, after two days without ship traffic, the Coast Guard opened the river for limited use.
  
  The smell of thick industrial fuel leaking from the barge could be smelled for miles in city blocks up and down the river, even as hundreds of cleanup workers tried to contain the hundreds of thousands of gallons. Environmentalists were alarmed by reports of fish and bird deaths in sensitive swampy areas downstream, though officials said they had only heard of a few oil-covered birds so far. Officials said that booms have been set up to protect the most wildlife-rich areas at the mouth of the river.

• Deepwater Horizon's Impact on Wildlife

  The New Orleans oil spill contaminated aquatic ecosystems, killing many species of marine animals and birds, and causing significant damage to fisheries and tourism. Cleaning up the oil in the affected areas required enormous efforts and resources, and even afterward, the ecosystems continued to suffer from the effects of the spill.
  
  In addition, the oil spill led to elevated levels of toxins in the air, which can be harmful to human health, especially for those who work to clean up the sites of the oil. The damage to ecosystems has also reduced productivity in industries important to the region's economy, such as fisheries and tourism.
  According to data published by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in November 2010, the spill has affected thousands of birds and dozens of sea turtles. State and federal workers and contractors for BP recorded more than 6,100 dead birds, 2,200 of which were visibly oiled. They also recorded more than 600 dead sea turtles, 18 of which were visibly oiled. Not all of the deaths were thought to have been caused by the oil spill.
  
  153 dead dolphins have washed up on the shore across the Gulf, at least eight of which were smeared with crude oil that has been traced to BP's well.

• Impact on the economy

  A major oil spill hampered ship traffic from New Orleans to the Gulf of Mexico and halted the flow of grain and other key export commodities.
  
  The day after the ship collision, a traffic jam of about 100 ships formed along a 97-mile stretch of the river, waiting to move along a vital route to grain elevators, coal terminals, and other Midwestern industrial facilities, Coast Guard officials said.
  
  The river is a vital link that carries grain from Midwest production areas to export markets overseas. Between 55 percent and 65 percent of all U.S. corn, soybeans, and wheat exports are shipped from the Gulf of Mexico.
  
  According to the Coast Guard, the impact on the region's economy has been significant, with the port of this city estimating losses of at least $100,000 a day, and possibly more, while the river was closed and petrochemical businesses that depend on it for shipping were at risk of disruption. Some suburbs stopped taking drinking water from the river.
  
  The oil spill impacted the fishing, seafood, tourism, and oil and gas industries. Government agencies closed oiled waters to recreational and commercial fishing; visitors canceled their vacations; and the government stopped offshore drilling projects for six months.