11 Facts About the BP Oil Spill

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1. In the BP Oil Spill, more than 200 million gallons of crude oil was pumped into the Gulf of Mexico for a total of 87 days, making it the biggest oil spill in U.S. history.^[Hoch, Maureen. "New Estimate Puts Gulf Oil Leak at 205 Million Gallons." PBS Newshour. Accessed February 25, 2014, http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/new-estimate-puts-oil-leak-at-49-million-barrels/.]
2. 16,000 total miles of coastline have been affected, including the coasts of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.^[Mackey, Maureen. "Oil Spill: 90 Days Out, A Bold Look at the Big Numbers | The Fiscal Times." The Fiscal Times. Accessed February 25, 2014, http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2010/07/20/Oil-Spill-Bold-Look-Bare-Economic-Numbers.]
3. Even though the gushing well was capped in July 2010, oil is still washing up on shores, which might cause long-term damages to people living in the area.^[Pittman, Craig. "Oil from BP spill pushed onto shelf off Tampa Bay by underwater currents, study finds." Tampa Bay Times. Accessed February 22, 2014, http://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/water/oil-from-bp-spill-was-pushed-onto-shelf-off-tampa-bay-by-underwater/2137406.]
4. The initial oil rig explosion killed 11 people and injured 17 others.^[Welch, William M., and Chris Joyne. "Memorial service honors 11 dead oil rig workers." USA Today. Accessed February 25, 2014, http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-05-25-oil-spill-victims-memorial_N.htm.]
5. President Obama announced that his administration would create a $20 billion spill response fund.^[Brenner, Noah, Anthony Guegel, Tan Hwee Hwee, and Anthea Pitt. "Coast Guard confirms Horizon sinks." Upstreamonline. Accessed February 25, 2014, http://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article1188900.ece.]
6. Responders used 5.5 million feet of boom, a barrier placed in water, to collect and absorb oil.^[McDonell, Colin (March 2012). "Comment. The Gulf Coast Claims Facility and the Deepwater Horizon Litigation: Judicial Regulation of Private Compensation Schemes" (PDF). Stanford Law Review 64 (3): 765–795. ISSN 1939-8581. Accessed February 25, 2014.]
7. Of the 400 miles of Louisiana coast, approximately 125 miles have been polluted by the oil spill.^[Klein, Naomi. "BP oil spill Deepwater Horizon,BP (Business),Oil spills (Environment),Oil and gas companies (Business),Oil (environment),Oil (business),US news,Conservation (Environment),Pollution (Environment),World news,Environment,Business". The Guardian (London). Accessed February 25, 2014.]
8. A method of treating the oil spill is "in-situ burning" or burning oil in a contained area on the surface of the water, which has negative effects on the environment.^["Response To Oil on Gulf Island Beaches Continues" (Press release). National Park Service. 4 June 2010. Accessed February 25, 2014.]
9. Over 8,000 animals (birds, turtles, mammals) were reported dead just 6 months after the spill, including many that were already on the endangered species list.^[Butler, J. Steven. "BP Macondo Well Incident. U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Pollution Containment and Remediation Efforts" (PDF). Lillehammer Energy Claims Conference. BDO Consulting. Accessed February 25, 2014.]
10. BP is responsible for close to $40 billion in fines, cleanup costs, and settlements as a result of the oil spill in 2010, with an additional $16 billion due to the Clean Water Act.^[“How Does the BP Oil Spill Impact Wildlife and Habitat?." National Wildlife Federation. Accessed February 25, 2014, http://www.nwf.org/What-We-Do/Protect-Habitat/Gulf-Restoration/Oil-Spill/Effects-on-Wildlife.aspx.]
11. Over 30,000 people responded to the spill in the Gulf Coast working to collect oil, clean up beaches, take care of animals and perform various other duties. As of 2012, the Gulf was still polluted with oil.^[Krauss, Clifford; Schwartz, John. "BP Will Plead Guilty and Pay Over $4 Billion". The New York Times. Accessed February 25, 2014.]