Blowout Preventer Errors Found, ‘Top Hat’ Close
As a new, smaller containment dome is set to gather the oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico by the end of the week, new discoveries regarding the cause of this devastating spill are being announced each day.
The Deepwater Horizon oilrig, after experiencing a large explosion that took the lives of eleven workers, sank and began leaking around 200,000 gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico from its well pipe. Because the leak is located 5,000 feet under water, efforts to curb the flow have consistently fallen short.
The first containment dome failed when the opening at the top, through which the oil would flow up to the surface, was clogged by an ice-like formation. A new containment dome, smaller in size and coined the “Top Hat,” has already been placed on the seabed next to the leak. Officials hope to have the new containment dome in place and functioning by the end of the week.
Mistakes Noted
After further investigations were conducted by the US House of Representatives, specific problems were found with the blowout preventer designed to stop the flow of oil in a situation such as this. They found that the blowout preventer was experiencing a leak in its hydraulics system and therefore could not receive the power it needed to close off the drill pipe.
A BP document shows that the well failed pressure tests just hours before the explosion. There is also proof, according to BBC News, that the blowout preventer had been modified in some way before the event. This modification very likely led to our current inability to utilize the device.
We will likely find more causes of this catastrophe than organizations to blame. A combination of human errors and unfortunate circumstances is the reason oil will disrupt our environment, but there is always room for change.
We should start by supporting new forms of independent energy, as well change in existing ones, instead of bashing down many for the mistakes of few. If industry standards had been practiced, the Gulf spill would not have been a historical disaster.
Today, President Obama will send a bill to Capitol Hill that is aimed at easing the huge toll this oil spill will take on the United States. The following is a copy of that bill:
Visit the website for Oceana and show your support for clean, independent energy. Also, check out their ongoing count of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico:
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