The BP oil spill directly affected the health of the environment in very harmful ways. In an account of the environmental losses regarding the BP oil spill, a famous writer for the Washington Post, Kevin Nance (2015), illustrates a reflection of the consequences in the wake of this disaster: “We remember the giant oil slick burning on the water, blackening the beaches, clogging the marshlands, choking and killing the fish and wildlife.” Many forms of wildlife suffered throughout this highly preventable incident, ruining fragile ecosystems permanently, despite the endless efforts of engineers and environmental specialists. Even 5 years after this spill, the consequences are still prevalent and largely noticeable.
When the spill occurred, it spread in wild amounts and at astonishing rates. Within the spread, it managed to stretch across more than 1,100 miles of coastline, at least 1,200 square miles of the deep ocean floor, and 68,000 square miles of surface water (NRDC, 2015). Among these expansive waters, many marine plants, coral, and animals were affected through one of nature’s most deadly weapons; bioaccumulation. In a January study published in Geophysical Research Papers, it was found that the plankton that served as food for early-life stages of fish and shrimp, contained high concentrations of toxic polyaromatic hydrocarbons linked to BP oil (Schleifstein, 2012). This population of plankton grew, and were later found in wide areas to the north and south of the BP well, including at the mouth of the Mississippi River (Schleifstein, 2012). From here, biomagnification began, larger predators began eating the plankton, and this lethal poison began moving up the food chain, poisoning and starving these fragile ecosystems to extinction. Internally, the animals of this epidemic were damaged, along with physically. Animals and plant life were commonly coated with this deadly substance, creating troubles with breathing, moving, and eating (Landau, 2011). According to the National Wildlife Federation (n.d.), birds coated in oil causes the “birds' feathers to mat and separate, causing the bird to lose its buoyancy and the ability to regulate body temperature. Contact with oil on their skin or face can cause skin and eye lesions.” Not only do individual health effects in animals arise, but so does ecosystem health. Throughout this disaster, the wetlands, an essential migratory stop-over for almost every bird traveling in the western hemisphere, were destroyed (AFP, 2010). Important vegetation and breeding waters were polluted with this spreading oil, ruining these roosting and nesting areas forever, widely impacting the reproduction rates of many life-forms. Along with impacting the environment, this deadly toxin, oil, has devastating effects on humans as well. …show more content…
First off, oil is proven to be an allergen. In a recent acute study, it was found that the “Tar Balls”, round clumps of solidifying oil, washing on the shores of local beaches, contained Vibrio (Schleifstein, 2012). Vibrio is dreaded bacteria in which causes rare infections that can include life-threatening diarrhea, abdominal pain, and vomiting. Also, it was reported by doctors that the workers who attempted to help with the BP oil spill cleanup process suffered from a variety of sub lethal effects, such as breathing problems, skin rashes, and nausea (Benoit, 2011). Not only is oil an allergen, but it is demonstrated that oil influenced multiple carcinogens. Several of the dispersed chemicals, including Corexit, attempting to eliminate oil from the ocean's waters was found to cause cancer on their own (Benoit, 2011). Over 2 million gallons of dispersants had been used in the Gulf by August (Landau, 2011). However, despite oils dirty effects to the environment’s health, it has benefited the health of millions, through the miraculous breakthrough of plastic. Plastic is a lightweight, low cost, and durable synthetic polymer, in which has been essential to the way we live our lives today (Gerard, …show more content…
Due to this disaster, over 205.8 million gallons of crude oil was spilled into the ocean, spreading across more than 1,100 miles of coastline, at least 1,200 square miles of the deep ocean floor, and 68,000 square miles of surface water, and affecting over 8,000 species. With this knowledge, we should move forward and ensure such a destructive event will never happen again, through learning more about the marine ecosystem and its inhabitants, along the machinery we are operating and its