BP Oil Spill, BP Oil Spill Cleanup Workers BLOG POST

How the BP Cleanup Effort Failed

In June 2013, the Coast Guard and BP declared the $14 billion post-Deepwater Horizon spill cleanup effort over in the states of Florida, Alabama and Mississippi. Official reports say the area is as close to pre-spill conditions as possible, although it is still far from clean.

Three years after the spill, Coast Guard spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Natalie Murphy issued an official statement, admitting that the cleanup effort is a process, as opposed to a completed project.

Others would use a different term to describe the effort — “failed.”

The amount of oil recovered in the Gulf is still increasing

Despite what environmental groups are calling a premature declaration that the cleanup effort is complete, tourists and residents are witnessing oil washing up on the Alabama coastline every day. According to the Coast Guard’s estimates, 1 million gallons of the 200 million gallons of oil spilled is still out there. Tar balls and tar mats wash up on the shores of the Gulf region regularly, especially following the region’s frequent tropical storms.

The shrimp industry has been all but destroyed

The introduction of Corexit dispersant onto the spilled crude forced large amounts of the highly toxic compound to sink to the ocean floor, where it has decimated shrimp breeding grounds. Local fishermen claim that if BP had not been allowed to use Corexit or other chemicals, the spilled oil could have been cleaned up rather than dispersed, hidden or sunk. (However, the cost and the fines imposed on BP would have been much higher.) The region’s fishermen continue to discover mutated sea life, a clear indication that some repercussions of the spill cannot simply be erased.

Long-reaching environmental destruction

Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority director Garrett Graves laments the loss of 1,900 square miles of coastal flora and fauna. The destruction of cyprus and tupelo forest that protected the coastline from storm activity has resulted in ongoing restoration efforts that are costly and time-consuming.

Locals are still getting sick

Area residents continue to pour into the region’s overburdened healthcare facilities with reports of severe respiratory distress, skin irritation, dizziness, headaches, overall decline in health and evidence of acute emotional trauma.

As the Gulf region confronts the reality of ongoing damage and suffering from the spill, the question remains: What exactly has been cleaned up?

The Downs Law Group helps residents of the Gulf region who are suffering illness because of the oil spill collect monetary compensation.