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On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig off the coast of Louisiana exploded, killing 11 workers and injuring 16 others. The rig was owned by a company named Transocean and operated by BP, one of the world’s biggest oil companies. The fire from the explosion caused the rig to burn and sink, leading to a failure of the rig’s blowout preventers. What following was an oil well gushing from the ocean floor that spilled 53,000 barrels of oil a day into the water. It was not until three months and 5 million barrels of oil later, that the spill was finally stemmed on July 15th. In the mean time, BP orchestrated a massive cleanup operation which included pouring 1.8 million gallons of chemical dispersant into the Gulf Coast waters. Since then, BP has set up a Gulf Coast Claims Facility to handle compensation for financial losses by local residents and businesses as a result of the spill. So far, the facility has received about half a million claims and paid out nearly $4 billion. However, only a third of the claimants have received any money. Over the past year health problems have also cropped up especially among workers involved in the clean-up operation. Symptoms include dizziness, vomiting, ear infections, and eye-sight and memory loss. The state of Louisiana has reported more than 400 cases of health problems related to the oil spill. Many believed that the BP oil spill would breathe new life into the movement for increased regulation of offshore drilling, if not, a permanent moratorium on the industry. However, even a year after the disastrous accident, Congress has not even managed to pass a law raising the liability caps of oil corporations when spills occur, or increasing regulations protecting workers and the environment.

GUESTS: Dahr Jamail, independent journalist and author, providing comprehensive media coverage of the BP oil spill, and a correspondent for Al Jazeera English, Theresa Dardar, member of the Pointe Au Chien Indian tribe and resident of Pointe Au Chien Louisiana; Allison Fisher, Outreach director for Public Citizen’s energy program; Dr. Ed Cake, Marine biologist and biological oceanographer, and certified Oyster biologist, public and private environmental consultant

Read Dahr Jamail’s writings at english.aljazeera.net.

Read more about the Pointe Au Chien tribe at pactribe.tripod.com.

Read more about Public Citizen’s work at citizen.org and energyvox.org.