Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill - Case Study Example

Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Code: Date of Submission: Introduction Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill is considered one of the biggest disasters which have ever happened globally. Although there are many other disasters which have impacted negatively the lives of many people and other ecosystems. The Gulf of Mexico oil spill started in the Mexico and affected many other countries like the US (Jervis & Levin 2010). It affected the lives of many people and the ecosystems of the animals and birds. Besides affecting the ecosystems, the oil spill also claimed lives of 11 people who were involved in the disaster (Jervis & Levin 2010). In this regard, this paper will discuss the causes and context of the Gulf of Mexico Oil spill, the impacts of the disaster, description of the most affected groups and the humanitarian response towards the crises. Description of the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill The disaster began in the Gulf of Mexico in the year 2010 and caused deaths of eleven people. It is the biggest disaster in the petroleum industry (Jervis & Levin 2010). There are many investigations which have been conducted to find out the cause of the oil spill. The investigations are headed by the United States Department of Justice. The reports indicate that the main of the oil spill is due to ignorance and human error (Jervis & Levin 2010). What happened is that the company’s policy of cutting down the operational costs also contributed to the disaster of the oil spill. One way of cutting down the costs is through lowering the maintenance costs. The company did not maintain its equipment like the pipelines (Robertson & Krauss 2010). This led to blockage and breakage, leading to oil spill. In this regard, it can be indicated that the Gulf of Mexico oil spill was caused by lack of appropriate measures by both the government and the company itself. The Gulf of Mexico oil spill affected about 1100 linear miles along the coastal wetlands. The oil spills affect the marine ecosystems and thus functions such as fishing declined. This implies that the fisheries declined by 20 percent since the disaster occurred (Weber 2010). The immediate effect is that people whose economic activity was fishing were affected economically. In this case, most people could not sustain themselves because their source of income was affected and the whole population was affected as a result. The BP Company was interested in cutting down the costs of products and as a result, they failed to put in place adequate safety measures to ensure safety of the company and its operations. The report also indicated that there were no adequate reforms in the industry and the government policies were inadequate to manage the operations of the oil industry (Robertson & Krauss 2010). Due to lack of adequate measures by both the government and the company, high blood methane gas rose from the well and expanded into the drilling rig and there was some ignition which led to an explosion. It was estimated that the 62,000 barrels per day was the most appropriate flow rate of the oil spill. This is a high rate at which oil can spill. At the end, it was approximated that the total oil which leaked was 4.9 million barrels. This quantity makes the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the largest disaster in the petroleum industry (Robertson & Krauss 2010). It is also estimated that the oil spill covered an area of 180,000 square kilometers. The most affected areas include Mississippi, Texas, Alabama and Florida (Robertson & Krauss 2010). There are many efforts which were made by various governments to manage the oil spill and by July 2010 the oil spill was managed. Impacts of Gulf of Mexico Oil spill The Gulf of Mexico oil spill had great impacts on the local population. To start with, the people who were affected most by the oil spill are those living near the Gulf of Mexico. This is because this population greatly depends on the Gulf ecosystems for their survival. They depended on the Gulf for food, storm protection and tourism activities (Weber 2010). Damage to this natural Gulf led to big impacts in their existence and their social and economical affairs were affected. Due to the damage to the Gulf, the living standard of the population was affected as they could no longer access the services and products they used to access (Weber 2010). For instance, the population which depended on the tourism activities to generate their income was affected as tourism activities declined. Food production also declined and this led to lack of food sustainability for people living along the Gulf. From the research conducted, it has been found out that almost 40 percent of the adults living in the coastal regions of the Gulf has been affected by the oil spill. They are linked directly to the oil spill and that they are affected by experiencing some physical symptoms on their skin (Dermansky 2013). Again, about 40 percent of adults experience skin irritations and also have some respiratory system problems. Therefore, Gulf of Mexico oil spill has affected the health of the people living in the coastal regions. Moreover, about 33 percent of the parents living along the coastal regions of the Gulf of Mexico complain about the health of their children. The children under the age of three years show some signs and symptoms of mental distress. The mental distress of the children is influenced by the effects of the oil spill, which led to environmental pollution impacting on the lives of the children (Dermansky 2013). Another effect of the Gulf oil spill is that it led to less swimming and boating activities. The report, which is given by parents complaining about the outdoor activities of their children is about 70 percent. Out of this population, 21 percent complain that their children spend much less time in outdoor activities such as boating (Muskal 2013). This is because the Gulf was destroyed by the oil spill thus not suitable for such activities. The impact is that most households had to relocate to find better places where their children can play outdoor games such as swimming. Most affected groups by Gulf of Mexico oil spill There are various groups which are more vulnerable than others as a consequence of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. To start with, the oil spill affected both the animals and the life of human beings. Many wildlife animals will be the most vulnerable to the oil spill. This is because there will be different timing of spawning and nesting season for birds, turtles and various fish species (Oberman 2013). These animals will be affected in that their breeding sites will be affected because their ecosystems have been affected. Another group which was affected by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill is the wildlife animals. The oil spill affected the habitats for wildlife animals along the Gulf. This implies that wildlife animals which depended on the Gulf coast for their sustenance became extinct as they could no longer survive in other climates (Oberman 2013). The oil spill destroyed the natural habitat for wildlife animals. In addition, another group affected by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill is the people who lived along the coastal regions of the Gulf. The dwellers along the coastal region of the Gulf largely depend on fishing for their economy. Since the oil disaster occurred, the marine ecosystem was affected and this led to difficult for the people along the coastal regions to sustain their existence. Some of the people living along the coastal regions of the Gulf had to migrate (Jervis 2010). Therefore, people living along the coastal regions were affected and still they are as their source of economic activities was affected. Furthermore, another group which was affected greatly by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill is the BP Company. The company suffered great losses as the oil which spill off was not recovered. The resources which the company consumed in processing the oil could not be recovered (Jervis 2010). Moreover, the operations of the company were stopped for some time as their operations had to be audited to determine if the appropriate measures are put in place to avoid more incidences of oil spilling and other incidences which might affect the environment and different ecosystems. Response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill Among the first responses towards the oil spill disaster was to call out spill out skills from spill response organizations. Within the first two days, the first team was able to organize skimming boast, aircrafts and boom deployment vessels were organized and managed the first burn (Schwartz & Weber 2010). This was the first effort in managing the oil spill. In addition, the government of UK government initiated dialogue and that BP required some certainty to for compensation over its liability. This was part of the effort to ensure the company could be reinstated to its initial financial position (Schwartz & Weber 2010). This was also one of the efforts to ensure there will be no oil shortage which will affect the global economy. Another response was from the government of the Netherlands. Three days after the oil spill, the government of Netherlands offered free ships to handle the large oil which had spilled. The Dutch vessels helped to extract the spilled as one strategy to reduce further effects of the oil spill (Muskal 2013). These ships helped to manage the further spread of oil and alongside other efforts, the oil spill was managed. The United Nations also offered humanitarian support to manage the oil spill. Luckily, the government of US and the support from the Netherlands had already managed the oil spill. In addition, the government of France offered oil skimming boats so that they can clear the oil which had spilt (Muskal 2013). These boats helped to manage the further spread of the oil spill. Critical analysis of CED health responses Once there is a disaster, there are various responses from different groups so that they can protect life. The first response is to assess the initial situation in the area of the incident. This is where the help groups assess the resources available which they can use to help the victims of the circumstance. They also assess the likelihood of the incident occurring again (Schwartz & Weber 2010). The victims are then transported to various to various centers for medication. This approach to disasters has been the most practice in the current world. The implication of using this response is that incidences are unpredictable hence this is the best approach that can help to save life (Schwartz & Weber 2010). However, this approach is criticized because they it may lead to lose of lives if the incident occurs again while saving life. This Kind of response to CED health is likely to change over time to automated life saving. This is because technology is advancing and it is expected that there will be machines and measures put in place to save life. Some of the factors which contribute to this approach include the availability of resources. There should be availability of facilities such as ambulances to very victims to health centers. Another factor is the availability of qualified medical attendants (Jervis 2010). They should be in adequate number to handle the emergency cases. These factors will improve the effectiveness of handling the emergency cases. Conclusion Gulf of Mexico oil spill is considered the biggest disaster which has ever happened in the petroleum industry. A total of eleven people lost their lives while the environment was affected greatly. This led extinction of some animal species as their habitat was destroyed. Another effect of the oil is that the economic stability of the people living along the coastal regions of the Gulf declined because the fishing sites were destroyed. Many responses were affected upon the occurrence of the incident. The US and Netherlands sent in their spill off skills and equipment to manage the oil, which was leaking at a high rate. International organizations such as UN also offered their support such as skimming boats to manage the flow of the spilled oil. References Dermansky, J. (2013). Three years after the BP Spill, Tar Balls and Oil Sheen Blight The Atlantic. Jervis, R & Levin, A. (2010). "Obama, in Gulf, pledges to push on stopping leak". USA Today, Associated Press. Jervis, R. (2010). "At least 11 workers missing after La. oil rig explosion". USA Today, Associated Press. Muskal, M. (2013). "BP pleads guilty to manslaughter in 2010 gulf oil spill". Los Angeles Times. Oberman, M. (2013). "BP vows to 'vigorously defend' itself at US oil spill trial", Agence France-Presse. Robertson, C & Krauss, C. (2010). "Gulf Spill Is the Largest of Its Kind, Scientists Say". The New York Times. Schwartz, N & Weber, H. R. (2010). "Bubble of methane triggered rig blast". Southern California Public Radio, Associated Press. Weber, H. R. (2010). "Blown-out BP well finally killed at bottom of Gulf". Boston Globe, Associated Press. Read More