2010 BP Oil SpillTeam 8

Brian Cuperus, Tommi Hanson,

Shilo Peer and

Brianna Gaughan

The Ecological damage caused by

the 2010 BP Oil Spill will persist for

many yearsVS

The environment has largely

recovered from the 2010 BP Oil Spill

http://albertoalemanno.eu/articles/43879

Oil Spill BackgroundApril 20, 2010 – Deepwater

Horizon oil rig caused largest Gulf of Mexico oil spill in petroleum history

Spill stemmed from oil gusher - Macondo Prospect - 5,000 ft below sea level

Explosion killed 11 workers and injured 17 - caused US $350-million drill rig to sink

September 19, 2010 – officially sealedEstimated that 4.9 million

barrels of crude oil or 53,000 barrels per day escaped from well before capped

http://www.deepwater.com/fw/main/Deepwater-Horizon-56C17.html

Natural Resource Damage Assessment Process (NRDA)The process of quantifying monetary damages for

injuries to wildlife, habitat, and the services they provide, in the event of an oil spill or other pollution event.

NRDA responsibilities1) assess the damages to natural resources2) develop and implement a plan to restore,

rehabilitate, or replace damaged natural resources3) request the Attorney General of the United States to

commence civil or criminal litigation against the responsible parties

ValuesMethods of Valuing Natural ResourcesContingent Valuation MethodologyThe Market Value ApproachRestoration and Replacement CostUse Value MethodologyFinding values for things that do not have price tags such

as animals by trying to put a market value on them.Natural resources have values not fully captured by the

market systemHabitat Equivalency AnalysisDifficulties in Calculating Natural Resources Damages

Environmental Damages: coastsAs of July 14th – gov’t

estimated 572 miles of gulf coast (35% of stretch from Florida – Texas)

Storms/strong winds could wash oil deep into Louisiana's wetlands, killing grasses that hold the land together, increasing risk of further erosion and damages

Oil slicks surround the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, in this aerial

photo

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreywarren/4590976462/sizes/l/in/set-72157623910039211

Biological Damages: “Burn Box” deaths•8 US national parks threatened

•Nov. 2, 2010 – 6,814 dead animals collected – 6,104 birds, 609 sea turtles, 100 dolphins and other animals (cause of deaths are still under investigation)

•275 plus oil burns over 500 square mile area have taken place since the spill to remove 238,000 barrels (10 million gallons) of oil from the sea’s surface

http://blog.al.com/live/2010/06/gulf_of_mexico_oil_spill_2010_19.html

•Shrimp boat captain Michael Ellis reported turtle incinerations in a video - "They drag a boom between two shrimp boats and whatever gets caught between the two boats, they circle it up and catch it on fire. Once the turtles are in there, they can't get out”

Below the SurfaceNational Oceanic and

Atmospheric Association (NOAA) and Department of the Interior released study accounting for barrels of oil released within 100 day period:25% - mopped up by

ships or lit on fire25% - evaporated24% - dissolved naturally

or by chemical dispersants

26% - still on or below surface or "has washed ashore”

Louisiana State University Oceanographer discovered a giant “plume” at one point reached 22 miles long and 3,600 ft deep

79% of the spilled oil is still in the Gulf

Biggest threats are oil and dispersals depriving the sea of oxygen causing die offs in marine species

Dispersal

A C-130 Hercules drops an oil-dispersing chemical into the Gulf of Mexico

Accelerate oil break up – may be responsible for oil plumes

1.8 million gallons of dispersants used

Corexit – agent in health problems of cleanup workers after Exxon Spill

Causes liver cancer in animals, reproductive hazard, damage fetus development

http://www.af.mil/shared/media/photodb/photos/100505-F-0848C-

294.jpg

Health Consequences Economic Damages

Executive Director for Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN) – people along Gulf Coast are reporting symptoms of dizziness, vomiting, nausea, headaches and chest pains

"The dispersants are being added to the water and are causing chemical compounds to become water soluble, which is then given off into the air, so it is coming down as rain, in addition to being in the water and beaches of these areas of the Gulf,“

Inflicting serious economic harm on communities that depend on tourism, fishing and drilling.

BP's total value lost since April 20 was $105 billion

Including the cost of the spill response, containment, relief well drilling, grants to the Gulf states, claims paid, and federal costs

Long-Term EffectsWeathering

left over oil particles that age and become more tar-like allowing them to sink to the ocean floor

Marine food chainleft over oil causing harm to:

tube wormstiny crustaceansmollusks single cell organisms

Hypoxic Conditionscausing an extension in time and size of the seasonal “dead-

zone”Algae causes hypoxia in order to clean up toxics but causes

depletion in oxygenoil spill causing higher numbers in these microbes

http://welcometowiscansin.tumblr.com/page/2

• BP drilled two relief wells, which permanently intersect with the damaged well and shut down the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico by pumping concrete into it.

• The drilling begins vertically, pushing down some 10,000 ft. below the surface of the Gulf. Then the drill's path has to curve into the original well. 

• BP began drilling a second relief well in May as a backup.

Stopping the Spill

http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/06/relief_well_progress_graphic.html

BP Taking Financial ResponsibilityThe chief of the BP fund Ken Feinberg expressed confidence that the

$20 billion fund created by oil giant BP should be more than enough to cover claims.

The program has already paid out $2.5 billion to 170,000 individuals and businesses, about a third of all claimants, Feinberg said.

He said the government is urging claimants to choose one of three options: File for final payment, based on scientific opinions about the future of

the Gulf. In return, claimants must waive the right to sue anyone involved.

File for quarterly payments based on documented damages, reserving the right to sue, until Feinberg's mission expires in 2013.

File for "go away" money. Aid recipients who can't document any more damage can receive $5,000 for an individual (or $25,000 for a business) to settle future claims.

The Gulf is ResilientIn an extensive survey of the Gulf of Mexico,

researchers find that this body of water is best described as “resilient”.

Natural processes that break up, evaporate, and dissolve oil take care of millions of gallons of the spilled oil.

The Gulf of Mexico has an impressive history of being able to absorb environmental impacts such as overfishing and frequent hurricanes.

BP ComebackThe recent Alabama Deep Sea Rodeo provided the opportunity for many different species of fish to be tested. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had a team of researchers and scientists on hand at the rodeo to collect tissue samples from the fish that were caught all the way from Florida to Louisiana waters.

The group was looking for the bad stuff such as Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons that cause all kinds of problems including being carcinogenic in some cases. The group also looked for any chemicals found in the dispersants sprayed on the oil slicks.

The group conducted tests of 942 tissue samples during and after the rodeo. The group stayed on Dauphin Island following the rodeo and tested oyster and shrimp, too.FDA officials say the tests showed that the fish, shrimp and oysters were every bit as safe to eat as they were prior to the spill. Minute but safe levels of several chemicals were found in the fish, oysters and shrimp, but all the tests were within limits of tissue samples prior to the oil spill. They were at levels that the FDA considers safe for human consumption.

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2011/08/gulf_of_mexico_makes_dramatic.html

BP ComebackDuring the BP oil spill, endangered sea turtles were burned alive during clean-up efforts, and thousands of unhatched sea turtle eggs had to be evacuated to avoid contamination from oil washing ashore.

A Duke University study recently found that the number of endangered leatherback sea turtle nests at 68 beaches in Florida has increased by 10.2 percent

“Nesting is increasing even where beach protection has not been enhanced,” said Larry B. Crowder, director of the Duke Center for Marine Conservation. “Changing ocean conditions linked to climate variability may be altering the marine food web and creating an environment that favors turtles by reducing the number of predators and increasing the abundance of prey, particularly jellyfish.”http://www.care2.com/causes/endangered-sea-turtles-make-a-comeback-in-florida.html

BP ComebackMore than 600 oiled pelicans were plucked from the Gulf oil slick last year after a BP-leased oil rig blew up off the Louisiana coast in April. The birds were cleaned and nursed back to health at Fort Jackson, La. Once they were strong enough, groups of a few dozen at a time were flown to new homes with similar habitats on the coasts of Georgia, Florida and Texas.

"Being captured oiled and going through all the rigmarole it takes to get the oil off them is all really stressful on any bird," said Greg Butcher, director of bird conservation for the National Audubon Society. Butcher said he believes tools and techniques used to clean oiled birds have improved enough in the last 20 years that the pelicans will be better able to bounce back.

While it will take years to know the full extent of the damage, Seymour said, the good news is scientists have reams of data on brown pelicans from before the spill to compare to whatever they find in its aftermath. That's because brown pelicans, driven close to extinction by 1970, were monitored closely for nearly four decades before being removed from the endangered species list in 2009.

BP Comeback

SummaryDamages Recovery

11 workers killed 30 days of oil being released hard to estimate prices to damages

caused to natural habitat oil being washed into wetlands and

killing grasses causing erosion 6,814 dead animals captured sea turtle deaths caused in burn

boxes 79% of spilled oil still in Gulf chemical dispersants causing

possible health problems for wildlife and humans

weathering, destruction of marine food chains and hyposixic conditions

Recoveryrelief drillssettling claimants with

BPnatural processes to take

care of damages doneFDA approves sea food

consumptionwildlife cleaning and

care stations formedsea turtle eggs relocated

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