The Legacy of Oil Spills

On April 20, 2010, an explosion occurred on a British Petroleum (BP) Deep Water Horizon platform, and 2 days later, the platform collapsed. Eleven workers were killed, and oil has been gushing out ever since. Although the initial reports were that about 50,000 gal were being released per day, every few weeks, the estimates released to the American public increased, until in early June, the company admitted that the actual rate has been and continues to be nearly 1 million gallons per day. It is now June, and oil continues to spew forth into the Gulf of Mexico, with BP telling us that no stoppage is possible until (maybe) August. Currently, about 45 miles of the Louisiana coast line are impacted, and it is feared that oil will spread until the coasts of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida are seriously damaged. Even worse, it is possible that the oil will continue to move Northward, up the Eastern coast of the USA until most of the US Atlantic coast is affected. Because of the oil fires, the air pollution is tremendous, and no one has even begun to estimate the atmospheric damage; nor has it been possible to estimate the damage to marine life in the Gulf and beyond. The 2010 hurricane season will soon be arriving, and hurricanes, if they occur as expected, may redistribute the oil over a much wider area, depending on the severity and course of the hurricane(s). A hurricane storm surge may transport the oil inland at ever increasing rates, depending on the track of the hurricane. Hurricanes can also move the oil away from the coast, again depending on the track taken. Regardless of where it goes, it is expected that the spill will impact marine life extensively, with several of the marine mammals and birds, recently rescued from the endangered species list, returning to this list. Published pictures of sea birds and mammals, including the beloved majestic pelicans, covered with crude oil, make the magnitude of the disaster apparent to anyone with access to these pictures. The consequences of this disaster are far from realized, however. Seafood is being tested for oil contamination, and dead fish, sea birds and marine mammals are being washed up on the beaches. All recreational activities have come to a halt, and the tourist trade is expected to experience economic hardships for the coastal communities. Thus, the spill has disturbed the lifestyles of the people, the economy and the natural resources of several coastal states which will now require increased protection from ever increasing amounts of crude Water Air Soil Pollut (2010) 211:1–3 DOI 10.1007/s11270-010-0527-5