Health consequences of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill Health consequences of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill The Health consequences of the "Deepwater Horizon" oil spill are health effects related to the explosion of the "Deepwater Horizon" offshore drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010. An oil discharge continued for 84 days, resulting in the largest oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry, estimated at approximately 206 million gallons (4.9 million barrels). The spill exposed thousands of area residents and cleanup workers to risks associated with oil fumes, particulate matter from controlled burns, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), polycylic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and heavy
Ixtoc I oil spill Ixtoc I oil spill Ixtoc I was an exploratory oil well being drilled by the semi-submersible drilling rig "Sedco 135" in the Bay of Campeche of the Gulf of Mexico, about northwest of Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche in waters deep. On 3 June 1979, the well suffered a blowout resulting in one of the largest oil spills in history. Mexico's state-owned oil company Pemex (Petróleos Mexicanos) was drilling a deep oil well when the drilling rig "Sedco 135" lost drilling mud circulation. In modern rotary drilling, mud is circulated down the drill pipe and back up the well bore to