Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Caused High Number of Dolphin Deaths

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that petroleum toxins left over by British Petroleum’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 have caused fatal lung lesions in bottlenose dolphins in the northern Gulf of Mexico.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Petroleum toxins left over by British Petroleum’s (BP) Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 have caused fatal lung lesions in bottlenose dolphins in the northern Gulf of Mexico, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said in a report.

“The timing, location and nature of the detected lesions support [the conclusion] that contaminants from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill caused these lesions and contributed to the high numbers of dolphin deaths within this oil spill’s footprint,” the report read on Wednesday.

In April 2010, 4.9 million barrels of oil spilled after an explosion into the Gulf of Mexico, damaging the Gulf’s natural habitat and its major fishing and tourism industries.

The findings follow a five-year NOAA scientific study into the causes of the high number of dolphin deaths in the region.

The United States has experienced a number of maritime oil and gas environmental disasters, including the 1989 Exxon Valdez shipwreck in Alaska’s Prince William Sound, which left behind long-term environmental destruction and economic hardship.