The Deepwater Horizon Disaster
a current event
by NewsMappers
Share- Tuesday, April 20, 2010
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Tuesday, April 20th, A Transocean rig called the Deepwater Horizon explodes and catches fire, approximately 42 miles Southeast of Venice, Louisiana, while finishing a well for British Petroleum. U.S. Coast Guard District Eight command center receives report at approximately 10 p.m. Of the 126 people on board at the time of the explosion, 115 crewmembers were accounted for. Of these 115, 17 were medivaced from the scene. Search begins for missing 11. -
- Thursday, April 22, 2010
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Thursday, April 22, The fire rages for almost 2 days. Midmorning Thursday a second explosion occurs causing the rig to sink. 700,000 gallons of diesel are enclosed tanks inside the pontoons at the time of the initial explosion. Unclear if diesel remains contained. -
- Tuesday, April 27, 2010
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Tuesday, April 27, 5 Days after the explosion the oil slick stretches 80 miles across the Gulf and is 36 miles southeast of Louisiana. Cleanup crews set up booms to block as much oil as possible from coming ashore. Remote operative vehicles are full day into operations to sea oil well on ocean floor. The leaking well, 5,000 feet under the ocean surface off the Louisiana coast, has created an oil sheen and emulsified crude slick with a circumference of about 600 miles, covering about 28,600 square miles, the Coast Guard said on Tuesday. That is slightly bigger than the U.S. state of West Virginia. The spill, however, is not comparable with the infamous Exxon Valdez disaster, which spilled about 11 million gallons of oil into the Prince William Sound in Alaska when it ran aground in 1989. BPs well is spewing about 42,000 gallons of oil a day into the ocean, the Coast Guard estimates. -
- Monday, May 3, 2010
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May 3 - President Barack Obama, meets with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal after arriving in New Orleans on Sunday, and reiterates the government will do 'whatever it takes' to help end the crisis. -
- Friday, May 7, 2010
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Friday May 7, BP lowers a custom made container to cover the well and siphon oil to the surface. By the 9th it has failed due to gas hydrates clogging the upper portion of the containment unit. -
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The same day as the cofferdam fails the edge of the oil slick makes land fall at the Chandeleur Islands. -
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The heads of BP, Transocean and Halliburton are brought to testify at Senate hearings about the rig explosion and the ensuing environmental disaster. -
- Sunday, May 16, 2010
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Sunday May 16, After a failed first attempt, BP manages to insert a hose to siphon oil from the leak to the surface. It is marginally successful according to their reports. BP reported on May 17 that a tube it had inserted into a broken pipe was gathering more than one fifth of the oil gushing from the Gulf of Mexico spill, but that sliver of good news was offset when scientists reported that the spill had found its way into the Gulf of Mexico powerful loop current, and that oil could be headed for Florida and the East Coast of the United States. - Wednesday, May 19, 2010
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Wednesday May 19, Louisiana officials say their worst fears are realized as heavy oil seeps into the marshlands of southern Louisiana. -
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BP plans for a final attempt at resolving the problem of the leaking well. The goal of the junk shot is to force-feed the preventer, the device that failed when the disaster unfolded on April 20, until it becomes so plugged that the oil stops flowing or slows to a relative trickle. That would be followed by a top kill, the pumping of heavy mud into the well to overcome the pressure of the rising oil, followed in turn by cement that would permanently seal it. -
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- Monday, May 24, 2010
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BP CEO Tony Hayward tours a beach closed due to oil contamination from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in Port Fourchon, La., on May 24. BP officials acknowledged growing public frustration that the company had been unable to halt the spill. -
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- Tuesday, May 25, 2010
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May 25 - Eleven men who died in the offshore rig explosion that triggered the Gulf oil spill were honored at a somber memorial service with tributes from country music stars and drilling company executives. Transocean, owner of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, organized the event, held under tight security at the Jackson Convention Complex. Police patrolled outside. It was impossible to judge the reactions of those attending. Reporters weren't allowed inside but were ushered to a room where the service was broadcast on closed-circuit television. - Wednesday, May 26, 2010
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May 26 - BP on Wednesday launched its latest bid to plug the gushing well in the Gulf of Mexico by force-feeding it heavy drilling mud, a maneuver known as a top kill that has never before been tried 5,000 feet underwater. The oil giant's chief executive earlier gave the procedure a 60 to 70 percent chance of working, and President Barack Obama cautioned Wednesday there were no guarantees. -
- Friday, May 28, 2010
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May 28 - President Obama toured the Gulf Coast today amid rising frustration and complaints that the federal government has responded too slowly and put too little pressure on BP to stop a month-long oil spill. Outlining the work his administration has done since a rig explosion triggered the spill last month, the president sought to reassure residents while warning them to expect a lengthy cleanup. - total distance: 3,328 miles (5.356 km)
Followers
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Kim AndersonFort Atkinson, WI, USA -
Besnik MecollariJanesville, WI, USA
Topics
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Barack Obama6 followers -
Current Events10 followers -
Bobby Jindal1 follower -
Tony Hayward1 follower
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