The Gulf Oil Spill

The Gulf oil spill exploded on April 20th, 2010. It is known as the worst oil disaster in U.S. history. 11 people died along with the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. The oil pipe was leaking oil 42 miles off the coast of Louisiana and was estimated of leaking 3.19 million barrels of oil into the Gulf. The well was located 5,000 feet beneath the ocean surface. It took them 87 days to finally cap the well. At that point the damage had already been done. Oil reached the shores of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida. This essay investigates the causes of this explosion as well as the effect it had on the ecosystem along with the clean up methods used for this disaster and what we could have done to prevent this disaster. To
Imagine having to clean up 3.19 million barrels. There are many different variables that come into play, such as what time of oil it is, how the seawater mixes with the oil or how the currents, tides, winds and temperatures move the oil throughout the Gulf. The most basic process of cleaning up an oil spill is to control the spread of the oil using physical barriers. When oil mixes with water it tends to float to the surface and disperse across the surface. There are two methods to cleaning up an oil spill the first is physical. To clean up the oil on the surface works first surround the oil with floating booms to keep it from spreading even further. To pick up the surface oil they usually will use boats that skim the spilled water from the surface through the oil. Once most of the oil is removed workers use sorbents to mop up the trace amounts left behind. Sorbents act like a sponge and are able to soak up the oil. The second method of cleaning up an oil spill is dispersants. Dispersant is a chemical that breaks down oil into smaller particles that mix with water more easily. By doing this bacteria and evaporation can degrade these smaller particles more easily than if they were in bigger groups. Additionally, waves can wash away the smaller particles too. Dispersants are used mostly protect a certain area like a marsh or harbor. However dispersants can enter the food chain and harm animals. Dispersants
Unfortunately, as this essay has shown, this disaster could have been avoided with better safety precautions along with the testing of their safety procedures. Plus, preparing for emergencies was not given proper priority and the understanding of the signs of an error were not recognized fast enough. As discussed, the cement was faulty, valves were faulty and there was no gas alarm. These issues could have been prevented with better quality control and training. Hopefully the world has learned from our mistakes and nothing like this happens