| 21 June 2010
As the world comes to grips with the dangers of oil drilling, it is sobering to learn that six of the 10 World's Worst energy disasters occurred in the USA.
Thousands of barrels of oil are still spewing into the Gulf in the worst environmental disaster in US history. A containment cap and another device are capturing some 25,000 barrels of oil a day, but the latest estimates suggest 35,000-60,000 barrels a day are spewing out.
The Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on 20 April, killing 11 workers. BP has faced mounting criticism for its handling of the disaster, as the leak continues to spread despite efforts to contain it. The best hope of ending the disaster rests on teams drilling two relief wells meant to stop the seafloor oil gusher, a daunting task. Their drills have to hit a target roughly the size of a salad plate about three miles below the water's surface. If the workers aboard the rigs miss or move too slowly, oil will keep pouring into the sea. As much as 125 million gallons of oil has gushed into the Gulf. No one on the rig has done this before because these deep sea interventions are so rare.
BP has spent $2 billion in two months of fighting its Gulf of Mexico oil spill and compensating victims, with no end in sight to the disaster or the price tag. The British oil giant released its latest tally of response costs on June 21st, including $105 million paid out so far to 32,000 claimants. The figure does not include a $20 billion fund that BP PLC last week agreed to set up to continue compensating Gulf residents and businesses. There are also scores of lawsuits piling up against BP for the April 20 rig explosion.
Meantime shares of BP, which has lost about half their value since the rig Deepwater Horizon burned and sank off the Louisiana coast, is down nearly five percent as of June 21st in London, trading at $5.06.
Just 15 days before the Gulf of Mexico catastrophe Raleigh County, West Virginia was rocked by the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster. A fireball explosion in a West Virginia mine owned by Massey Energy killed 29 miners, the deadliest blast since 1970. The explosion was so intense that it twisted steel rail lines. The build up of methane and carbon monoxide made search and rescue attempts impossible.
This isn't the first time Massey Energy encountered problems. In 2009, it was fined more than 380 thousand dollars for serious safety violations. The same day as the West Virginia mine explosion, 115 Chinese miners were floated to safety after being trapped in a flooded mine shaft for eight days.
It's still unclear what caused the blast. Electrical systems and mine equipment are being tested to determine the cause of the explosion. Additionally, the FBI is currently investigating reports that federal mining officials took bribes from Massey Energy.
In December 2008, Roane County, Tennessee woke up to the Kingston Coal Ash Spill
Early on December 22, an ashy dike ruptured, releasing 1.1 billion gallons of coal fly ash slurry into the atmosphere, which spread across 300 acres, damaging homes and polluting the local Emory and Clinch River waterways.
The fly ash contained high quantities of toxic chemicals including arsenic, lead, barium, chromium and manganese, metals which have been linked to cancer, liver damage, neurological damage and other health problems. The clean-up is expected to cost around one billion dollars, and is estimated to be completed in 2013. The Emory River is still closed to the public.
In May 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to regulate coal ash disposal, including the implementation of protective controls and safer landfills.
And then of course how can one forget the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill in Alaska? It happened on March 24, 1989 in Prince William Sound.
Valdez captain Joseph Hazelwood, accused of being drunk on the job, left the tanker in the hands of an officer who wasn't certified to pilot the ship – and the Valdez ran aground in Bligh Reef off the coast of Alaska. Around 11 million gallons of the estimated 54 million gallons of oil spilled into the Prince William Sound, killing thousands of animals. While images of animals and birds covered in oil became iconic symbols of the disaster, groups like the American Bird Conservancy warn that only one in 10 birds affected by an oil spill is likely to turn up on shore.
In the long term populations of fish, birds and other marine creatures have declined dramatically, and the local fishing industry has been hobbled forever. Efforts to remove the oil had the unintended consequences, as critical microorganism populations that are necessary to preserve the marine food chain were destroyed. Some experts believe that the shoreline will take up to 30 more years to fully recover, and oil can still be found on many beaches, just under the surface.
More than twenty years after the spill, many claims by local residents and businesspeople have gone unpaid. Indeed, many have died while their claims against Exxon wended through court, and survivors are more prone to anxiety, depression and other mental illnesses. Meantime, Exxon merged with Mobil in 1999 and has posted record profits while vigorously arguing against efforts to address climate change. In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to reduce the amount of damages awarded to victims of the Exxon Valdez disaster from $2.5 billion to $500 million.
In March 1979, the Dauphin Country Pennsylvania witnessed the Three Mile Island Meltdown
Considered the most significant accident in the history of American nuclear power, it occurred as one of the units of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station, experienced a partial core meltdown, dispersing radioactive material into the atmosphere.
Clean up of the damaged system took 12 years and it cost around 973 million dollars.
For 18 years, the Pennsylvania Department of Health maintained a registry of more than 30,000 people who lived within five miles of the accident. Fortunately according to the registry, “no unusual health trends” were noticed from the meltdown.
The U.S Nuclear Regulatory Commission found that "in spite of serious damage to the reactor, most of the radiation was contained and that the actual release had negligible effects on the physical health of individuals or the environment."
Public confidence in nuclear energy declined dramatically in the wake of the three Mile Island accident, however a new federal loan guarantee could catalyze the building of the first new plant since the meltdown, in Georgia.
More than a century ago, on May 31st 1889, the South Form Dam erupted, unleashing 20 million tons of water on the town of Johnstown, Pa. The flood killed more than 2,200 people and caused around $17 million in damage. As the water moved through the town (population: 30,000) it picked up and carried debris, including houses, barns, animals and people.
At that time it was the worst flood in American history and the first disaster relief effort to be handled by the newly formed American Red Cross. Sadly, this would not be the last Johnstown flood – the town's residents experienced two additional floods in 1936 and 1977.
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