REMEMBERING 2O10’S OIL LEAKS AND SPILLS

Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, University of

North Carolina, USA

IMPACTED NATIONS

• USA (Gulf of Mexico states: Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida), China (Port of Dalion area)

SOCIETAL IMPACTS DURING 2010

• Oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico that continued for over 82 days caused an environmental disaster, cost tens of billions, and changed the way of life for millions.

SOCIETAL IMPACTS DURING 2010

• An explosion of oil pipelines in the Port of Dalion caused fires and an oil spill that exceeded the local capacity, causing an environ- -mental disaster in the Yellow Sea.

OIL LEAKS AND SPILLS

• GULF OF MEXICO

•DALION, LIAONING PROVINCE, CHINA

British Petroleum scrambled to stop the leak by using techniques known

to be at the margins of existing capability in deep water locations,

but no one technique was immediately successful for a variety

of reasons.

“GREAT GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL OF 2010”

COASTS OF LOUISANA, ALABAMA, MISSISSIPPI, AND FLORIDA WERE

IMPACTED BY A 5 MILLION BARREL OIL LEAK THAT CAUSED A HUGE ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER

APRIL 22- AUGUST ???, 2010

OIL RIG EXPLOSION AND COLLAPSE CAUSED OIL LEAK ON OCEAN FLOOR

THAT LASTED OVER 82 DAYS AND BECAME THE WORST

ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER IN USA HISTORY

OIL RIG EXPLODED IN GULF OF MEXICO: APRIL 22

DEEP WATERR HORIZON IN GULF OF MEXICO: APRIL 22

DEEP WATER HORIZON: APRIL 22

GRAPHIC OF MILE-DEEP UNDERWATER OIL LEAK

The mile-deep, underwater leak added an estimated 35,000 to 60,000

barrels of oil a day into the Gulf, and fed a massive slick on the

surface of the water that eventually impacted the environment,

economic stability, and way of life of the entire gulf coast

NASA PHOTO OF OIL SPILL IN GULF OF MEXICO

British Petroleum scrambled to stop the leak by using techniques known

to be at the margins of existing capability in deep water locations,

but no one technique was immediately successful for a variety

of reasons.

WORKING AT THE MARGIN OF TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITY

• Use of robots to repair blowout preventers

• Oil containment booms

• Controlled Burning

• Oil skimmers

• Oil dispersal chemicals

• Oil containment domes

• Super tanker, “A Whale”

• “Top Kill”

RESPONSE AND CLEAN-UP OPERATIONS WERE HINDERED BY

HIGH WINDS AND WAVES, POLITICAL INDECISION AND DECISIONS,

AND THE ARRIVAL OF TROPICAL STORM-HURRICANE

ALEX IN THE WESTERN GULF

Strong winds and high tides initially complicated the work of

emergency crews that began a massive work across the Gulf of Mexico to shut off, respond to,

manage the oil leak, and meet the needs of people .

INITIAL OIL SHEEN ON WATER

OIL SLICK CONTINUES TO GROW

OIL REACHES CHANDELEUR SOUND: APRIL 30

OIL IN CHANDELEUR SOUND

Emergency crews used a number of methods to stop the spread of

oil: 1) laying containment booms, 2) burning small contained pools of oil, and 3) spreading chemicals

to disperse the oil, ,,, but, all of these “good weather” methods

FAILED.

CLEANUP CREW

PLACING AN OIL CONTAINMENT BOOM: MAY 29

BOOM CONTAINS SPREAD OF OIL: MAY 29

BOOM PROTECTING A SMALL ISLAND

CLEAN UP SHIPS AT ANCHOR DUE TO WIND & WAVES: MAY 1

BOOM NOT DEPLOYED DUE TO WIND & WAVES: MAY 1

WIND & WAVES REDUCE EFFECTIVENESS OF BOOMS

WIND & WAVES BREAK OIL BOOM

BP CONSTRUCTS AN OIL CONTAINMENT “DOME:” MAY 4

OIL DOME ENROUTE TO SITE OF LEAK: MAY 6

THE GULF OF MEXICO DISASTER STARTED BIG AND GREW BIGGER

OVER 105 DAYS

The leak became a serious long-term threat to fishermen's livelihoods, marine

habitats, beaches, wildlife, human health, tourism, and the way of life itself

BROWN PELICANS AT RISK FROM OIL SLICK

NORTHERN GANNET BIRD AFTER BEING CLEANED UP

DEAD SEA TURTLE

PASS CHRISTIAN, MS: REMOVING DEBRIS FROM BEACH

FISHERMEN OUT OF WORK: PERMANENTLY ???

LA BATRE, AL: ALL FISHING SHUT DOWN

TROPICAL STORM ALEX BECAME A HURRICANE ON WED., JUNE 30

HURRICANE ALEX SLOWS RESPONSE AND CLEAN-UP

• For safety reasons due to the choppy seas created by Hurricane Alex, ships and barges were moved from open waters to sheltered areas and skimming and drilling operations were put on hold.

HURRICANE ALEX “HELPS” BEACH CLEAN-UP

• Cleanup crews on the LA, MS, AL, and FL beaches were able to wash sand more effectively in locations where the oil had washed ashore as a result of the high tidal surges created by Hurricane Alex.

“A WHALE” ARRIVES IN GULF OF MEXICO: JULY 2

BP said on Monday, July 5th , that it had spent $3.12 billion USD on the

Gulf of Mexico oil disaster

“A WHALE” BECOMES PART OF CLEAN UP EFFORT

• The 1,100-foot (335 m-long) ore and oil carrier named, "A Whale,” can collect 500,000 barrels (21 million gallons) per day of contaminated water, remove the oil, and return the “clean” water to the Gulf.

BP is hoping that the giant Taiwanese supertanker, "A Whale," can exponentially boost the amount of oil and water mix being scooped

up from the surface of the Gulf, while continuing to drill relief wells that are expected to be completed

in mid-August.

On July 5th, The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expanded the

area closed to fishing in the Gulf beyond the current northwestern boundary off Louisiana,

bringing to the closure to 210,258 sq km (81,181 sq mi), 33.5 percent of the Gulf’s

Federal waters.

After 75 days, the oil leak had fouled some 715 km (444 mi ) of shoreline in four southeastern US states, killed wildlife, stopped most of the region's multi-billion-dollar fishing industry,

and significantly slowed tourism.

Finally contained after more than 110 days, the Gulf oil leak ( “spill” ) became the worst in USA’s history, surpassing the damage done by the Exxon Valdez tanker that spilled 11

million gallons of oil into the ecologically sensitive Prince William Sound, AK in 1989.

“PORT OF DALION, CHINA OIL SPILL OF 2010”

A PIPELINE EXPLOION IN THE PORT OF DALON CAUSED AN ENVIRONMENTAL

DISASTER FOR THE BEACHES AND COAST LINES OF THE YELLOW SEA

July 17- ???, 2010

China lacked the capacity and technology to contain the spill in a

timely manner.

DALON PORT: FIRE AFTER THE EXPLOSION: JULY 17, 2010

DALON PORT: FIREFIGHTERS; JULY 17, 2010

CONTAINING THE FIRE: JULY 18, 2010

OIL WASHING ASHORE: JULY 18, 2010

OIL DAMAGE: JULY 18, 2010

A DIFFICULT RESCUE: JULY 17, 2010

OIL SLICK: YELLOW SEA; JULY 18, 2010

OIL SLICK: YELLOW SEA. JULY 18, 2010

SCOOPING UP THE OIL: JULY 18, 2010

SOAKING UP THE OIL: JULY 18, 2010

PEOPLES LIBERATION ARMY LAYING BOOM: JULY 20, 2010

On July 20, Chinese officials estimated that the oil spill was

about 165 square miles, a fraction of the size of the BP oil spill in the

Gulf of Mexico.