This video report by Bloomberg explains how BP is preparing underwater containment domes to help mitigate the ongoing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The domes are the latest effort by BP to contain the oil spill, which continues to leak oil at an estimated rate of 210,000 gallons per day. The current oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico began on April 22nd, when an offshore oil drilling rig, which had suffered an explosion that killed 11 crew members two days earlier, sank off the Louisiana coast. Attempts to stop the leak have been unsuccessful to this point, as BP, the U.S. Coast Guard, and federal officials have labored to find a solution that will stop the leak and limit the potential damage. Among the solutions/mitigation strategies that have been attempted thus far include:
- Activating a blowout preventer 5,000 feel below the water surface. This did not work for reasons that are currently unknown.
- A controlled burn of the oil slick. This did not work because the oil was spread too thinly on the surface for the burn-off technique to work.
- Oil dispersant has been used somewhat effectively to break down the oil on the surface of the water into small droplets that will fall to the bottom of the ocean and marginalize the possible environmental damage.
Courtesy of Endress+Hauser
