The BP Oil Disaster: An Overview
The BP oil disaster was one of the worst environmental disasters in the history of the United States. A drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico suffered an explosion which resulted in the well that they were drilling turning into a gusher. There have been huge consequences to the disaster both environmentally and economically.
The BP oil disaster occurred in 2010 when there was an explosion on one of their drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. The explosion was caused by methane gas in the well that was being drilled, the methane gas travelled up the drill riser into the rig where it exploded. The explosion killed eleven people on the rig and it caused the gas in the well to start gushing out. The result was an uncontrolled gusher that put millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf.
Capping the gusher proved to be a major challenge and took nearly three months to accomplish. During that time it is estimated that nearly five million barrels of oil were released into the Gulf of Mexico, making it by far the largest spill in the history of the petroleum industry. Numerous attempts were made to control the oil once it got into the water including containment booms and skimmer ships but they proved to be ineffective. In part this was because of the fact that a lot of the oil spread out before it reached the surface. The main problem however was the slow response in attempting to contain the oil.
The BP oil disaster has had a huge impact on the Gulf region as a large amounts of the Gulf of Mexico are now covered in oil. Because it is so widely dispersed cleaning it up has proven to be a major challenge. In addition a lot of that oil has started to wash up on the coast mainly of Louisiana. The result has been that most of the fishing industry in the area has had be shut down. It has also resulted in a serious impact to the tourism industry. This doesn't even begin to cover the damage that has been done to the environment and the wildlife of the region.
Following the disaster BP found themselves facing hundreds of lawsuits for the damage that was done by the accident. In order to resolve some of those lawsuits the company agreed to a settlement with the Department of Justice to create a fund to pay for people who suffered damages. It is now possible to make a BP Claims Filing with GCCF if you have suffered because of the damage. This by no means resolves all of the lawsuits but for a lot of people it may be the best option to make a claim this way so they can get their payment quickly.