Ripple effects after an offshore oil rig explosion
Bryan Walsh
TIME
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/US/04/25/oil.rig.explosion/story.spill.cleanup.uscg.gi.jpg caption="A boat works to clean up oil where the Deepwater Horizon oil rig sank last week in the Gulf of Mexico." width=300 height=169]
When a massive explosion occurred on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig off the coast of Louisiana on April 20, the first concern was for the 11 workers missing after the accident. A secondary fear was the environmental impact of the oil and natural gas that could be spilled in the accident — especially once the rig sank on April 22.
The rig was producing up to 336,000 gallons of oil a day and carrying some 700,000 gallons of fuel oil at the time of the accident. A major spill would have threatened the sensitive Louisiana coast, and resulted in the worst man-made environmental disaster since the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Alaska in 1989.
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Filed under: 360° Radar • 360º Follow • Environmental issues • Oil |
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Anybody investigating the cause of explosion? Sabotage considered? What about those opposed to more offshore drilling? Or (this is crass) even guy whose family was so quick to file lawsuit? Since there were supposedly no prior problems, this explosion seems suspect.