Today Marks The 50 Year Anniversary Of The Santa Barbara Spill

On January 29th of 1969, the oil well off the coast of Santa Barbara went through a blowout, followed by an oil spill that was the largest in US history at the time. The event changed the course of history, leading to reforms in the oil industry as well as the birth of the modern environmental movement.

The events leading to the spill began early that morning on platform A. The rig was six miles from the Santa Barbara coast, and was operated by Union Oil. The workers had already dug four wells, and the trouble started while they were trying to drill the fifth. This time, the back-pressure was too much for the well’s safety systems, and caused oil and natural gas trapped well below the surface to start shooting toward the surface. The workers tried to block the hole with steel blocks to seal the damage, but it was too late, as they had already broken open the sea bed.

At the time of the accident, there were few measures in place to prevent or respond to such a disaster. Thousands of birds and an unknown amount of ocean life were killed in the aftermath of the blowout. The Santa Barbara zoo ended up taking in oiled birds for treatment and rehabilitation. 50 years on, we have better safety precautions and measures to handle disasters, but events that have taken place since 1969 have reminded us there is always more to be done.

Written by  
5 years ago
Article Tags:
· · ·