BP Oil Spill 4/20/2010

“The worst environmental disasterin US history.” (White House)

Statistics

Deep water well leak3 months in time4.9 million barrels = 205.8 million gallons of oil665 miles of coastline affected

• Burning• Naturally dispersed• Skimmed by ships• Direct recovery from well• Evaporation and dissolving• Chemical dispersants

The Clean Up Techniques

Death Toll

• 6,104 Sea Birds• 609 turtles• 100 dolphins

Still Under Investigation:67 Dead Dolphins35 of them premature or newborn calves

End Result

• BP–$20,000,000,000 fund for those

affected–$4,300 per barrel lost + other fines =

$21,000,000,000

Exxon Valdez March 24,1989

Statistics• 10.8 million

gallons • 4.8% of BP

oil spill • 1,300 miles

of coastline

The Clean Up

The Clean Up

SkimmersDispersants High pressure hot water10,000 Workers1,000 Boats100 Planes and

Helicopters

Death Toll

Death Toll•2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, 900 bald eagles, 1,000 harlequin ducks and 250,000 seabirds died in the days following the disaster.

Death Toll

• Pink salmon embryos continued to be harmed and killed by oil that remained on stones and gravel of stream banks through at least 1993. As a result, the southwestern part of Prince William Sound lost 1.9 million or 28 percent of its potential stock of wild pink salmon.

The Cost

2,200,000,000 in fines1,000,000,000 in payment300,000,000 to residents and businesses

Questions:

• Why is there such a difference in environmental impact in these two different situations?

• Do you agree with the White House on the BP oil spill being the worst environmental disaster in history? Explain!

• During the clean up process for each spill, did the positives help to outweigh the damage? Explain!

BP vs. Exxon vs. You

• Compare the 2 oil spills with the amount of oil that would be added to the oceans if everyone in the US dumped one oil change down the drain.

Statistics

US population 316,602,287Vehicles oil capacity 1.25 gallonsHousehold size 2.63Vehicles per household 1.9• If every household in the US dumped one oil

change down the drain on the same day, calculate how much oil would be “spilled?”

NO calculators!

Compare your answer with that of the two oilspills discussed in class.1.Which oil spill would be the most similar to our

produced oil spill?2.Is this a realistic problem or fiction? Explain!3.How can we prevent this from happening?