Oil Spills In The United States

In 1858 in Titusville, Pennsylvania the first oil well was drilled (Congressional Digest 2010). The thirty-eight years following that first onshore oil well would be dedicated to searching for offshore oil resources (Congressional Digest 2010). By 1896 those who searched accomplished what they set out to do off of Summerland, California (Congressional Digest 2010). During 1910, oil was an invaluable source of energy in America (Congressional Digest 2010). The people of America came up with ways to access and gain oil quicker than ever before (Congressional Digest 2010). The business expanded into the Gulf of Mexico in 1938 after the Creole Field was discovered (Congressional Digest 2010). Throughout the 1940s demand for oil rose and government
There have been numerous oil spills all over the world including the United States, Nigeria, and China and are threats of more occurring. There have been several oil spills to occur in the United States but two of the most well known major oil spills in happen here are the Exxon oil spill and the British Petroleum Deepwater Horizon oil spill. In March of 1989 an oil tanker called Exxon Valdez created a massive oil spill after running into a reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska (Fontugne 2015). Over eleven million gallons of crude oil was poured into Alaskan waters. Due to increased fossil fuel exploration, such as fracking, in various places near Arctic waters, including Alaska, there is now an even larger risk of potential oil spills happening there (National Research Council (U.S.) 2014). The National Research Council claims that if there were to be an oil spill in U.S. Arctic waters the U.S. would not be prepared for it. The British Petroleum Deepwater Horizon oil spill happened in on April 20, 2010 resulting after a drilling rig located in the Gulf of Mexico experienced an explosion. The event caused the death of eleven workers and around 4.9 million barrels of crude oil to be sent into the Gulf of Mexico (Wilson 2014). Niger Delta, Nigeria experiences approximately “240,000 barrels of crude oil” being poured into it every year (Ordinioha and Brisibe 2013). This has caused major health complications to those
People who work in fishing, crabbing, and shrimping are all affected by oil spills. It is usual for bans on fishing and beach closures to be put into place after an oil spill has occurred thus preventing fishermen from doing their jobs (Cheong 2012). Furthermore, after an oil spill in waters near Korea people refused to buy fish that derived from there (Cheong 2012). Pertaining to health effects of humans after an oil spill, it has been found that there are mental health impacts on those living in or near the area affected by an oil spill (Lee and Blanchard 2012). Though not always, as demonstrated by the Exxon oil spill, those who experience direct exposure to the oil spill tend to have more problems than others (Fan et. al 2015). Increased anxiety and fear in a community, especially in those who belong to the fishing and seafood industry, can follow an oil spill (Lee and Blanchard 2012). Oil spills may also cause reduces in other food sources. In Niger Delta, Nigeria crude oil affected soils, trees, and crops resulting in a decline in food production (Ordinioha and Brisibe