(Smithsonian Natural Museum of Hihttp://ocean.si.edu/gulf-oil-spill)
In 2010 the Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig, which was owned by the British Petroleum Co., blew up and spilled more than 200 million gallons of crude oil in the Gulf of Mexico. The leakage from the rig lasted about 87 days, which made it the biggest oil spill in American history. The Gulf coastlines the American states of Louisiana, Florida, Texas, and a bit of Alabama. The oil spill affected many things, it took the lives of many organisms in the sea, such as birds, whales, sea otters, coral, fish, and much more. Sadly, it even took the lives of 11 oil rig workers when the explosion happened. 82,000 birds were affected, 167,000 sea turtles were affected, 26,000 marine animals …show more content…
Disturbing numbers of mutated fish were seen in the Gulf. Scientists and fishermen are pointing to the spill, the dispersants and chemicals used in its cleanup as the cause of these deformities which include shrimp born without eyes, fish with lesions, fish with oozing sores and, according to a local fisher-woman, "We are also finding eyeless crabs, crabs with their shells soft instead of hard, full grown crabs that are one-fifth their normal size, clawless crabs, and crabs with shells that don't have their usual spikes ... they look like they've been burned off by chemicals". The dispersants are known to be mutagenic. In Barataria Bay, Louisiana, an area "heavily impacted by oil and dispersants", 50% of shrimp were found lacking eyes and eye sockets. Another lifelong fisher-woman reported seeing "fish without covers over their gills and others with large pink masses hanging off their eyes and gills". A 2014 study of the effects of the oil spill on bluefin tuna, published in the journal Science, found that oil already broken down by wave action and chemical dispersants was more toxic than fresh oil. Prior to the spill, approximately 0.1% of Gulf fish had lesions or sores. A report from the University of Florida said trete and less soil for polluted water to soak into instead of becoming runoff. This summer, we've learned that our state needs to instill better, more efficient flood control practices. All these factors that have contributed to the dead zone can fortunately be fixed or
In 2010 the Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig, which was owned by the British Petroleum Co., blew up and spilled more than 200 million gallons of crude oil in the Gulf of Mexico. The leakage from the rig lasted about 87 days, which made it the biggest oil spill in American history. The Gulf coastlines the American states of Louisiana, Florida, Texas, and a bit of Alabama. The oil spill affected many things, it took the lives of many organisms in the sea, such as birds, whales, sea otters, coral, fish, and much more. Sadly, it even took the lives of 11 oil rig workers when the explosion happened. 82,000 birds were affected, 167,000 sea turtles were affected, 26,000 marine animals …show more content…
Disturbing numbers of mutated fish were seen in the Gulf. Scientists and fishermen are pointing to the spill, the dispersants and chemicals used in its cleanup as the cause of these deformities which include shrimp born without eyes, fish with lesions, fish with oozing sores and, according to a local fisher-woman, "We are also finding eyeless crabs, crabs with their shells soft instead of hard, full grown crabs that are one-fifth their normal size, clawless crabs, and crabs with shells that don't have their usual spikes ... they look like they've been burned off by chemicals". The dispersants are known to be mutagenic. In Barataria Bay, Louisiana, an area "heavily impacted by oil and dispersants", 50% of shrimp were found lacking eyes and eye sockets. Another lifelong fisher-woman reported seeing "fish without covers over their gills and others with large pink masses hanging off their eyes and gills". A 2014 study of the effects of the oil spill on bluefin tuna, published in the journal Science, found that oil already broken down by wave action and chemical dispersants was more toxic than fresh oil. Prior to the spill, approximately 0.1% of Gulf fish had lesions or sores. A report from the University of Florida said trete and less soil for polluted water to soak into instead of becoming runoff. This summer, we've learned that our state needs to instill better, more efficient flood control practices. All these factors that have contributed to the dead zone can fortunately be fixed or