Must knows about oil spill, if you care.
Time and Oil
58 days – the length of time oil has been gushing into the Gulf since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion
60,000 barrels or 2.5 Million gallons – daily rate of oil spewing into the Gulf
250,000 barrels/day or 11 Million gallons/day – The rate of oil spill BP’s response plan claimed it could contain
1,000 barrels/day – BP’s initial estimate of the rate of oil leaking
30,000 barrels/day – the amount of oil a good well in the Gulf Coast provides when it is under control. This has to increase for a well not under control.
5,000 barrels/day – The “taken for” rate long agreed upon by BP and government officials.
15,000 barrels/day – the rate of oil currently being siphoned by BP
145 Million gallons – the estimated total amount of oil that has leaked from the source.
14 – the approximate number of Exxon Valdez spills it would take to equal this BP spill thusfar
1.1 Million gallons – approximate amount of toxic chemical dispersant BP has deployed into the Gulf to break apart the oil.
1,800 – gallons of oily water have been skimmed (CNN 6/10)
3,800,000 – gallons of oil have been burned (CNN 6/10)
4,000,000 – gallons of oil have been recovered from the gushing well (CNN 6/10)
BP wastes time after explosion and in between attempts
- 5 days after explosion before BP attempts and fails activating shutoff valves
- 11 days pass before BP tries its 100-ton “top hat”
- 4 days after that failed, BP tries another “top hat”
- 9 days after that failed, BP attempts “top kill”
- 3 days after that and “junk shot” failed, BP fails at cutting through pipe
11,505 square miles – the area of the Gulf covered with a layer of oil on June 3rd
30 days – time passed before BP released live video footage of leak
50 days – time passed before BP released higher quality video footage
Financials
$140 Million – Amount U.S. government has used in cleanup efforts and plans to keep “pouring in assets” (CNN) – 6/10
$75 Million – the maximum amount BP is legally liable for cleanup costs under the 1990 Oil Pollution Act
$1 Billion – estimated costs of the cleanup efforts alone thusfar
$20 Billion – tentative amount BP has agreed to set aside in a fund to pay entitlements to those impacted by the oil spill
$20 Billion – Dollar value of Gulf tourism
$163 Billion – Profits made by BP from 2001-2009 alone
Environment & Misc.
783 – Number of birds killed by this disastrous oil spill
1 – percentage of birds that survive long-term after being covered in oil
72 – percentage of U.S. shrimp that come from the Gulf of Mexico
353 – number of endangered sea turtles killed
41 – number of dolphins and other marine mammals killed
109 – number of oil cleanup workers who have gotten sick
760 – the number of OSHA violations committed by BP in the past three years (97% of industry)
25,000 people – contractors, volunteers and members of military were involved on the ground (CNN 6/10)
For a detailed play by play of the major events that have occurred since the explosion, please view our previous post.
References include: CNN, Newsweek, Before It’s News, Tree Hugger, New York Times, Inhabitat, BP
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