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The Deepwater Horizon oil spill was an environmental disaster beginning 20 April 2010 off the coast of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico, on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect.

It is considered the largest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry and estimated to be 8 to 31 percent larger in volume than the previous largest, the Ixtoc I oil spill, also in the Gulf of Mexico. Caused in the aftermath of a blowout and explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform, the United States federal government estimated the total discharge at 4.9 million barrels (210,000,000 US gal; 780,000 m3). The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is regarded as one of the largest environmental disasters in world history. Oil continued to be found as far from the Macondo site as the waters off the Florida panhandle and Tampa Bay, where scientists said the oil and dispersant mixture is embedded in the sand. One study released in 2014 reported that tuna and amberjack exposed to oil from the spill developed deformities of the heart and other organs which would be expected to be fatal or at least life-shortening; another study found that cardiotoxicity might have been widespread in animal life exposed to the spill. In September 2014, a US district court judge ruled that BP was primarily responsible for the oil spill because of its gross negligence and reckless conduct.

Dispersants are said to facilitate the digestion of the oil by microbes but conflicting results have been reported on this in the context of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

For the Deep Horizon oil spill, cleanup workers used 1,400,000 US gal (5,300,000 L; 1,200,000 imp gal) of various chemical dispersants to further breakdown the oil.

Prior to the oil spill, on 31 March 2010, Obama ended a ban on oil and gas drilling along the majority of the East Coast of the United States and along the coast of northern Alaska in an effort to win support for an energy and climate bill and to reduce foreign imports of oil and gas.

the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling,

The National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling was established on 22 May to "consider the root causes of the disaster and offer options on safety and environmental precautions." The investigation by United States Attorney General Eric Holder was announced on 1 June 2010. The National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling released a final report on 5 January 2011.

The settlement includes payments of $2.394 billion to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, $1.15 billion to the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, $350 million to the National Academy of Sciences for oil spill prevention and response research, $100 million to the North America Wetland Conservation Fund, $6 million to General Treasury and $525 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In 2012, The Big Fix, documented the April 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico following the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig

In 2012, American singer-songwriter Andrew Bird released the song "Hole in the Ocean Floor" referencing the Deepwater Horizon oil spill as his inspiration.

Monitoring and Modeling the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: A Record-Breaking Enterprise.

"Approaches for Ecosystem Services Valuation for the Gulf of Mexico After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Interim Report by the National Academy of Sciences" The Role of BP in the Deepwater Horizon Explosion and Oil Spill: Hearing before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, Second Session, June 17, 2010

Deepwater Horizon oil spill caused lasting damage, report says Archived 12 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine

Quick Facts

• It is considered the largest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry and estimated to be 8 to 31 percent larger in volume than the previous largest, the Ixtoc I oil spill, also in the Gulf of Mexico.
• The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is regarded as one of the largest environmental disasters in world history.
• Caused in the aftermath of a blowout and explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform, the United States federal government estimated the total discharge at 4.9 million barrels (210,000,000 US gal; 780,000 m3).
• In 2012, The Big Fix, documented the April 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico following the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig
• the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling,

Source material: Wikipedia - "Deepwater Horizon oil spill". Adapted and summarized for DiscoverScroll. Original contributors are credited through the linked Wikipedia article. Read original on Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes were made from the original.