Introduction to the Deepwater Horizon Accident

¹Ocean Alliance, Gloucester MA, ²Wise Laboratory of Environmental and Genetic Toxicology, ³Maine Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health, University of Southern Maine, 96 Falmouth St., Portland, ME, ⁴Department of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Southern Maine

The Deepwater Horizon Disaster (also referred to as the BP oil spill, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the BP oil disaster, or the Macondo blowout) occurred on April 20^th 2010.  Methane gas from the Macondo wellhead (that was being closed off) leaked up onto the drill rig and exploded, killing 11 people and starting the largest ocean toxicology experiment in the world. The well released approximately 250,000 gallons of oil a day totaling just over 205 million gallons in the 3 months before it was capped.  Over 2 million gallons of methane gas was also released along with another 2 million gallons of oil dispersant that was pumped into the Gulf to diminish the impact of the spill.  Many are now concerned that from a wildlife perspective the unbridled use of dispersant could have exacerbated the situation instead of helped it. While the full effects of this disaster will take years to play out, the spill caused widespread damage to offshore and inshore wildlife habitats as well as impacting the Gulf's fishing and tourism industries. As of the two-year anniversary of the disaster, public interest in the spill had dropped to zero while many scientists remain deeply concerned that the true effects of the largest oil spill in US history are yet to be seen.