For more, check out the PDF of this factsheet.
Representatives from both the oil industry and the U.S. government insisted offshore drilling was safe. They were wrong.
Quotes from the Oil Industry:
“This is the first time the industry has had to confront this issue in this water depth, and there is a lot of real-time learning going on.” Tony Hayward, BP Chief Executive Officer, May 10, 2010
For more, read the PDF of this factsheet.
On August 21, 2009 the Montara oil rig suffered a blowout and began spilling oil. The well was located in 250 ft of water, between East Timor and Australia. It took four attempts over ten weeks to block the leak and it was eventually achieved when mud was pumped into a relief well.
For more, see the PDF version of this factsheet.
There is no truly effective way of cleaning up an oil spill. All the options available are not fully effective or have negative impacts.
Burning the Slick
Unfortunately, burning the oil is a no-win situation; it creates large, toxic plumes of smoke that can result in respiratory problems and eye, nose, throat and skin irritations in both wildlife and humans. Birds may also become disoriented in the smoke.
Burning may be the lesser of two evils as it removes large amounts of oil that can result in immediate and long-term impacts to wildlife in the area, including skin irritations, organ damage, reproductive failures, developmental abnormalities and death.
To read more, click here for the PDF factsheet.
The federal government has closed commercial and recreational fishing in a wide swath of the Gulf as a result of the oil spill, which is a serious economic blow to the region.
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Substance Continue reading... Factsheet: Recent Major International Oil SpillsThere have been many major oil spills around the world in recent years. For the pdf of this factsheet, click here.
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