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Environmental impacts of oil spills
The impact of an oil spill on marine life is related to the size of the spill, the type of oil, and sensitivity of the ecosystem. Oil spills kill fish, mammals, birds, and their offspring; destroy plant life; and reduce the food supply for organisms that survive. Spills also disrupt the structure and function of marine communities and ecosystems. The riskiest toxins are a class of organic compounds known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. Growing evidence suggests that PAHs and other toxic compounds can have adverse effects on marine species even at very low concentrations. This means chronic releases from runoff and recreational boating may inflict more damage than previously thought, and that the effects of large spills may last as long as residual oil persists in the area.
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Featured News
Public Input: Deepwater Horizon Accident Early...
Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment Call for Public Input on Early Restoration of the Gulf Sixty-day public comment period for Draft Phase I Early... More »
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Featured News
Deepwater Horizon effects on fish
Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Horizon Spill Effects on Fish Revealed Oil spill resulted in dramatic effects on fish species in Louisiana marshes Despite low concentrations of oil... More »
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Featured Video
Oiled water, oiled waste: BP's drilling...
Date of Video: Sep. 21, 2010 Ongoing series by the Gulf Restoration Network documenting the environmental and community impacts of the BP disaster. Featuring music from... More »
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Featured Video
Tough times, tar balls, and tourists: BP's...
Date of Video: Jul. 18, 2010 As a signs of hope show up at the well-head, the impacts on coastal economies become more apparent for tourist-focused businesses, such as the... More »
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Featured Video
Oil spill impacts on coastal wetlands of the...
Date of Video: Jun. 3, 2010 LSU professors and wetland ecologists, Dr. Irving Mendelssohn and Dr. Karen McKee, answer questions about possible oil spill effects on wetlands,... More »
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Featured Video
Widlife in distress and dispersants: BP's...
Date of Video: June 15, 2010 3rd episode in an ongoing series documenting BP's oil drilling disaster, and its impacts on the Gulf ecosystem and coastal communities. Featuring... More »
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Featured Video
Sperm whales, shrimp and uncertainty: BP's...
Date of Video: May 31, 2010 2nd episode in an ongoing series documenting BP's drilling disaster, and its impacts on the Gulf ecosystem and coastal communities. Featuring images... More »
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Featured Video
Did Gulf spill boost "Dead Zone"? (3:34)
Date of Video: Oct. 25, 2010 Microbes consuming oil from the Gulf of Mexico's BP spill deplete oxygen levels when they die, raising the threat of an expanded "dead... More »
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Featured Video
The oil spill's toxic trade-off (17:14)
Date of Video: Jun. 28, 2010 Break down the oil slick, keep it off the shores: that's grounds for pumping toxic dispersant into the Gulf, say clean-up overseers. Susan Shaw shows... More »
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill: coastal wetland and...
Last Updated on 2012-08-21 at 22:07
Editor's Note: This article is excerpted directly from the Congressional Research Service Report for Congress, "The Deepwater Horizon... More »
Arctic offshore oil exploration spill response planning
Last Updated on 2012-05-13 at 11:30
Worldwide, oil and gas companies are being forced by resource declines to drill in less accessible areas, and the Arctic is their newest frontier.
This article, written by... More »
Public Input: Deepwater Horizon Accident Early...
Last Updated on 2012-01-15 at 09:11
Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment
Call for Public Input on Early Restoration of the Gulf
Sixty-day public comment period for Draft Phase I Early... More »
Data on the environmental impacts of the Deepwater...
Last Updated on 2011-10-28 at 06:55
Data on the Deepwater Horizon main page
Size and Percent Coverage of Fishing Area Closures Due to BP Oil Spill (.xls)
Coastal Water and Sedime More »
Oil and water just don't mix
Last Updated on 2011-10-17 at 05:29
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