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April 20, 2010 – explosion and sinking of
Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico
BP pipe was leaking oil and gas on the ocean
floor – 42 miles off coast of Louisiana
Immediately after explosion, workers tried to
control spread of oil to beaches and coasts using
floating booms/chemical oil dispersants to break
down oil
87 days later, the well was capped
◦ 3.19 million barrels of oil had leaked into the Gulf
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Gulf is still not oil free even 5 years later
Largest accidental oil spill in history