Deepwater Horizon Explosion

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Running head: OIL DISASTER Deepwater Horizon Explosion Deepwater Horizon Explosion There was a major offshore oil spill that occurred on April 20, 2010 due to the Deepwater Horizon explosion. This has ultimately lead to the largest offshore oil spill in United States History. There have been many efforts made to try and stop the leak and on July 15, 2010 the oil leak was capped. There are now millions of gallons of oil that has leaked into the ocean and is now affecting the Gulf Coast. The biggest problem we are facing right now is finding a way to clean up the ocean and the shores along the Gulf and how it has affected the Gulf Coast. On the night of April 20, 2010 during the final phases of drilling an exploratory well a geyser of seawater erupted from a marine riser onto the rig. This was soon followed by the eruption of a slushy material. The gas component of the slushy material quickly transitioned into a fully gaseous state and ignited into a series of explosions and then into a firestorm. An attempt was made to activate the blowout preventer, but it failed. At the time of the explosion there were 126 crew on board, sadly eleven workers were presumed killed in the initial explosion. The rig was evacuated and support ships sprayed the rig with water to cool it and help prevent it from capsizing. However, after approximately 36 hours of burning, Deepwater Horizon sank on April 22, 2010 ("Deepwater Horizon," 2010). Huge blowouts where oil is being drilled is fairly uncommon in the United States. The last was over 40 years ago and was the Santa Barbara Union Oil Blowout in 1969. This leak only lasted for eleven days and the amount of oil spilled was much less than the current spill and was estimated at around 200,000 gallons. What is more common is an oil spill where a ship powered by oil or a ship that carries oil collides with another object. The
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