OIL POLLUTION

Evaluation of the Environmental impact of oil pollution and the control measures used. A case study of Gulf of Mexico



Evaluation of the Environmental impact of oil pollution and the control measures used. A case study of Gulf of Mexico

Introduction

In April 2010 BP's offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon exploded, burned, and sank in the Gulf of Mexico, 52 miles southeast of Venice, Louisiana (Figure 1). Eleven of the 126 workers on the rig were killed and, over the following 86 days, an estimated 4.9 million barrels (206 million gallons) of oil were spilled into the Gulf (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 2010).

Figure 1. Fire boat response crews battle the blazing remnants of the offshore oil rig Deepwater Horizon April 21, 2010. Multiple Coast Guard helicopters, planes and cutters responded to rescue the Deepwater Horizon's 126 person crew.

This was the largest accidental oil spill ever reported. The response also was massive, involving federal agencies; multiple agencies from the five Gulf states; numerous local agencies; nongovernmental organizations; oil companies and contractors; academia; and thousands of local residents(Izundu, 2010, pp. 49-59), volunteers, and expert consultants. In addition to the loss of life, the spill's effects have been significant ecologically, socially, and economically. Furthermore, some effects may continue or worsen and others may not yet have been realized or become apparent. To make matters more complex, any assessments of spill effects will be confounded by the effects of other risk factors such as climate change, fisheries, commercial shipping, military activities, and coastal development(Saleh, 2010, pp.1105-1116). For all these reasons, efforts to understand the spill's effects will require careful assessment of long-term effects. Marine mammals may be affected by (1) the oil, its metabolites, or dispersants through direct contact, ingestion or inhalation; (2) injury and disturbance from response activities; and (3) short and long term ecological changes resulting from the spill and response efforts. Relative to many forms of marine life, some marine mammals are more readily observed and studied. They also are long-lived and feed at high trophic levels, and likely will integrate ecosystem effects of the spill and response activities over many years. For those reasons, they may serve as useful indicators of at least some aspects of the health of the Gulf ecosystem following the spill. Oil spill preparedness and response

BP aims to maintain readiness to respond on a global scale, to minimize adverse effects and facilitate rapid mitigation activities. The Gulf of Mexico oil spill demanded a response at an order of magnitude never required before. We learned a great deal and made advances in response technology and systems. As a result, we are updating our group requirements and are sharing our knowledge with the industry and regulators. In 2011, as a priority, we focused on incorporating the learnings from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill response into new technical requirements for BP operations that drill in deep water (Ducrotoy, 2008, pp. 8-21). New BP drilling operations in deepwater must have access to capping equipment, must pre-plan their ...