A return to the Gulf Coast five years after the BP oil spill

Americas Now

It is now over five years since the disastrous 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico oil that contaminated waters from Florida and Alabama, to Louisiana and Mississippi and devastated fishing industries like the oyster business.

The images are seared into our collective memory. Pictures of oil coating beaches, water and wildlife.  

Five years ago, an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig sparked what’s considered to be the worst oil spill in U.S. history.  A massive leak – some 15-hundred meters below the surface spewed oil into the Gulf of Mexico for 87 days taking lives and livelihoods.  British Petroleum or BP owned the well and spent billions of dollars in clean-up and claims.

Correspondent John Zarrella returned to the U.S. Gulf coast to find out how the fishermen are faring and to see if the oil is really gone.   

Scientists say it may take years to determine whether there will be any long term impacts on the Gulf and its wildlife.  When it comes to cleaning-up spills that watchdog group, The Gulf Restoration Network says technology isn’t much more advanced than when the Exxon Valdez accident occurred in Alaska some 25 years ago. 

John Zarrella’s report, however, is encouraging. He found that much of the Gulf region has remarkably recovered five years after the spill. 

A return to the Gulf Coast five years after the BP oil spill

It is now over five years since the disastrous 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico oil that contaminated waters from Florida and Alabama, to Louisiana and Mississippi and devastated fishing industries like the oyster business. The images are seared into our collective memory. Pictures of oil coating beaches, water and wildlife. Five years ago, an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig sparked what’s considered to be the worst oil spill in U.S. history. A massive leak – some 15-hundred meters below the surface spewed oil into the Gulf of Mexico for 87 days taking lives and livelihoods. British Petroleum or BP owned the well and spent billions of dollars in clean-up and claims. Correspondent John Zarrella returned to the U.S. Gulf coast to find out how the fishermen are faring and to see if the oil is really gone.