Elizabeth Morton
University of Phoenix
SUS/300
3/9/15
Tereza Marks
Gulf Oil Spill Case
BP Oil Spill 2010
BP is a world leading international oil and Gas Company. The BP Company however had an oil spill on April 20, 2010 due to a gas release in the Gulf of Mexico. A massive explosion followed the gas release on the Deep Water Oil rig that was working on the exploration of British Petroleum. The explosive gas leak resulted in eleven peoples dead and several other individuals injured. The fire burned nearly 36 hours before the rig began to sink releasing oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The attempt to stop the flow of oil from the well failed causing further ignition because the blowout preventer also known as BOP equipment failed to control the flow of oil. There was severe environmental impact from the contamination of oil, which affected the nearby marine environment, and the lively hood of the community of neighboring species, and residents. The direction of the federal government action towards clean up and studies have aided in the research and responsible clean up activities to understand the risk in the Gulf of Mexico to prevent future contamination. ("Deepwater Horizon Accident And Response", 2014).
Prevention
The Oil Pollution Act signed on August 1990 was signed in response to a growing concern following an oil spill called Exxon Valdez incident. The law was approved to prevent oil spills and to take immediate action. ("Oil Pollution Act Overview", 2014). The OPA opened doors for the national Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund. It is protected under the OPA law but it enforces the owner of the oil operating facility from which the oil spill occurred to be responsible for any costs pertaining to the clean up of the spill. The Oil Spill Liability Trust fund is an emergency management plan that gives power to the Environmental Protection Agency to enforce responsible owner of the oil operation facility pays to clean the mess