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
Deepwater Horizon oil spill 318,000 Louisiana residents (17% of all jobs in the state). NOAA had closed , or approximately 36% of Federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico, for commercial fishing causing $2.5 billion cost for the fishing industry. The U.S. Travel Association estimated that the economic impact of the oil spill on tourism across the Gulf Coast over a three-year period could exceed approximately $23 billion, in a region that supports over 400,000 travel industry jobs generating $34 billion in revenue annually. On 30 April 2010, President Barack Obama ordered the federal government to hold the issuing of new offshore drilling leases