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Five years after a massive oil spill off the coast of Louisiana, the area is still grappling with the consequences.
In 2010, the BP oil plant at Deepwater Horizon exploded, killing 11 workers and flooding the seafloor with 134 million gallons of oil. The spill killed thousands of animals, damaged large natural habitats and took a toll on the local economy.
BP has paid more than $28 billion since the spill in response and cleanup measures along with compensation claims. In January, a judge ruled that BP had been “grossly negligent” in the spill, which could hold the company liable for up to $13.7 billion in penalties.
Today, local businesses that rely on fishing and seafood are still struggling, and many coastal businesses have shut down.
In addition, scientists have not determined the long-term impact of the spill on the environment, according to John Young, President of Jefferson Parish in Louisiana.
“BP has spent a lot of money and there has been a lot of money in cleanup, but there’s still a lot of unaccounted-for oil that is probably on the seabed of the Gulf,” Young said.
Chemicals from the spill have traveled as far as Rhode Island, making it difficult to determine the far-reaching effects of the spill, according to Mark Schleifstein, environment reporter at The Times-Picayune.
Litigation related to the incident is also still ongoing, with a number of legal claims pending from people who say the spill cost them business.
Warm up questions
- What do you know about the BP oil spill?
- What happens when a foreign material like oil is introduced into a natural habitat?
Critical thinking questions
- How did BP address the spill after it happened?
- Keith Feinberg, who administered an independent claims fund, described an instance of a restaurant in Boston that could no longer serve a favorite seafood dish. In this case, would BP be responsible for compensating them? How should courts decide when to hold BP accountable?
- What can governments do to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future?
