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BP Oil Spill - College Essays

BP Oil Spill

B.P. Oil Spill

One may recall the horrific incident of the B.P. oil spill back in April of 2010. This was caused by the carelessness of a large corporation, and it left the public as well as the government in shock. What was thought to be a small incident turned out to be billions of barrels of oil being dumped into the Gulf of Mexico. At that point, Congress deemed the B.P. oil spill as, “one of the worst environmental disasters in United States history,” (Natural Resources Committee, 2013). One may wonder whether or not there was a disaster plan put into place. Believe it or not, there was a very complex disaster plan that was in place. This plan included a chain of five mechanisms ...

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because its role is to give pressure read-outs and dictates the functions within the rig. The hydraulic system sends emergency power to valves within the rig in order to pinch off the supply line. However, the hydraulic system had a leak within it. The shear ram was put into place to sever and crush the pipe. It turns out that the shear ram wasn’t strong enough to clamp off the pipe. The fourth mechanism is the test ram. It was supposed to prevent a blowout by similar means as the shear ram. On this particular rig, the mechanism was completely modified and rigged. It wasn’t the appropriate ram. It failed because it wasn’t the right ram/valve to begin with. The final mechanism was the cement seal. The seal failed miserably. The company knew that the cement used did not pass pressure tests, so the seals around the pipe didn’t work properly. (Natural Resources Committee, 2013)
There are several things B.P. could have done to improve this disaster plan. Five of the main components ...

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BP Oil Spill. (2014, May 20). Retrieved August 14, 2025, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/BP-Oil-Spill/104125

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 5/20/2014 07:15:50 PM
Submitted By: bhicks014
Category: Environment
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 521
Pages: 2

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