The BP Oil Spill Noah Grossman 6B

How did it happen? The BP oil spill was a tragic event. An oil company named BP, had an unspeakable tragedy. Members of BP were celebrating on a boat for being the “safest” oil company. Beneath the floors of the boat, a gas called methane was being blasted up from high pressures. The gas was pushed up so high, that it caused the oil rig to run a little bit too fast. From there it burst in to flames and blew up causing oil to spill out all over the place and in to the water.

What is being done to stop the oil? BP came up with a very smart solution to plug up the pipe that is leading oil toward land. It involves pumping heavy drilling mud into a well, hoping the mud will stop the flow. Cement would then seal it permanently. This procedure has been done before, and it has worked but the only problem is that it’s never been done under 5000 foot waters. The reason they’re going through to this large procedure is because, at first they let out six remote-controlled submarines to the ocean floor that were supposed to to shut off a valve called a blowout preventer. The blowout preventer was supposed to close when the rig exploded, but it did not. The subs did not end up completing the job.

How did they clean the oil up? They cleaned it up the same way that they wanted to stop the oil from flowing. They pumped heavy drilling mud into a well, in which the mud stopped the flow. Then cement sealed it permanently. From there, no more oil could escape. They had a perfect opportunity to then pump the oil up from the water all the way to land. They went for it and the oil was cleaned up.

How did this affect the environment? All oil spills ruin our environment in some way. No clean water Animals dying such as ducks and fish Waste of Oil The company doesn’t pay for the entire clean up process

How does this relate to the AOI? I’m not very sure about social education, but I could definitely see how it relates to health. Animals are dying, people wouldn’t be swimming in very clean waters, and the members of BP had lost their lives from the explosion. I also think the main reason is because if the oil goes in to too much of our waters, then we wouldn’t be very healthy.