By Anum Hussain - July 28, 2010
On April 20, 2010, the worst oil spill in
U.S. history commenced. The natural disaster has now reached landmark day 100,
but the numbers are beyond that.
A webcam two miles above the oil reservoir
has been shooting live footage of the disaster as 3,915,000 barrels of oil has
flowed into the Gulf of Mexico. After months of work, a cap was plugged to stop
the spew of crude oil on July 15.
The spill took 11 lives after the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded three months ago.
The wildlife numbers are high
as a total of 1,635 animals died since the disaster began. This number includes
1,150 birds, 434 sea turtles, and 51 mammals. However, 995 of the 2,630 animals
collected have survived.
In 2009, BP had an annual profit of $16.578
billion; however, the disaster response costs have already reached $3.95
billion. This number includes $207 million sent to claimants as well as costs
for cleanup, containment, federal costs and grants as of July 19.
But the costs also reach Gulf of Mexico
travel revenue. The spill has cost the travel industry up to $22.7 billion and
can potentially last three years. BP also said it paid $256 million to those
who have lost income or profits because of the massive spill.
As of July 21, BP has written 75,443 checks
for claims, while staff members have given 73,894 hours to these claims.
BP announced on July 27 that CEO Tony Hayward
would step down from his position on October 1. The decision was a mutual
agreement with the BP Board. Executive director Robert Dudley will take the
position.
Gulf beaches across Louisiana to Florida have been blanketed with 2,200 health warnings, and many have even closed, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.
