Spring Member Drive: Protect journalism that gets results.
Donate Now
Skip to content
ProPublica
Donate
ProPublica
Donate
Environment

Gulf Oil Spill

Investigating the Impact of the BP Spill

The 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was the largest in U.S. history. ProPublica's coverage focused on BP’s safety and cost-cutting record, the environmental and health effects of the spill, the efforts at cleanup, and how it affected workers and the communities in the region.

Gov't Watchdog: Offshore Drilling Regulator Has Too Few Inspectors And Poor Training

Oil and Gas Lobby, Unfazed by Gulf Disaster, Defends Regulators and Status Quo

Chemical Exposure Limits That BP Cites Are 'Not Safe,' Gov't Official Says

OSHA Head Agrees: Gulf Cleanup Workers Need More Training

GAO: Liability Caps Needed a Raise Even Before BP's Gulf Disaster

No Signs that BP's Tracking Role of Chemical Exposure in Worker Illnesses

BP Says Workers May Speak to the Media, But Video Suggests Otherwise

Experts: Safety Training for Gulf Workers May be Inadequate

States' Tally of Spill Worker Illnesses Exceeds BP's Total

Read: BP E-mails Show Decisions Pre-Blast to Save 'Lots of Time' and Money

Latest Gulf Oil Spill FAQ: The Government's Power to Punish BP, and More...

Read: BP's Document on Workers' Illnesses and Injuries, Little Mention of Chemical Exposure

Many Spill Claims Remain Unpaid as BP Debates Escrow Account

Another (Sigh) Increase in Estimate of Oil Flow

Experts: Gulf Workers' Levels of Chemical Exposure May Be 'Perfectly Legal, but Not Safe'

Gov't and BP Unresponsive on Requests for Data on Sick Cleanup Workers

Scientists Criticize BP's Claims About How Much Oil It's Siphoning

BP's Spill Plans Had Few Ways to Stop a Blowout

BP Refuses to Provide Oil Samples to Scientists Investigating Underwater Plumes

As Oil Plumes Are Confirmed, Scientist Calculating Flow Rate Blasts BP

Read Documents Showing BP's Pattern of Neglecting Its Own Safety Policies

Gulf Judges' Oil Ties May Present Conflicts of Interest

Four Reasons Why Measuring Flow in BP's Spill Matters

Former Valdez Cleanup Worker Warns of Toxic Dangers in the Gulf

BP, Prior to Gulf Accident, Said Measuring Oil Flow Was 'Critical' to Effective Response

Air Sampling Finds a Compound in Toxic Dispersant Is Also in the Air

A Mystery: When Did Gov’t Exempt Gulf Drilling from Detailed Enviro Reviews?

Mixed Messages as the Oil Continues to Spew

Did BP's Acts to Save Time and Money Set the Stage for the Gulf Disaster?

Director of Offshore Drilling Regulatory Agency Fired

After Removing Mud Before Accident, BP's "Top Kill" Injects Mud to Stop Oil

More Reports of Illness Emerge Among Gulf Cleanup Workers

Read Congressional Memo That Confirms Warning Signs Before Rig Explosion

Gov't Subsidizes Deep-Water Drilling With Big Tax Breaks

Read the Govt's Report Blasting Drilling Regulators on Ethics, Drugs and Porn

BP Continues to Apply Toxic Dispersant

BP Resists EPA's Order to Use Less Toxic Dispersant

Coast Guard Flagged Potential Problems With Spill Response in 2004

BP: Oil Flow "Might Be a Little More" Than Earlier Estimate

After Approving Toxic Dispersants, EPA Orders BP to Use Less Toxic Ones

While BP's Oil Gushes, Company Keeps Information to a Trickle

In Gulf Spill, BP Using Dispersants Banned in U.K.

Damaged Equipment, Feuding Between BP and Transocean in Lead-Up to Explosion

BP Turns Down Offers to Better Measure Gulf Disaster

A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words ... and Millions of Barrels of Oil

Gulf Oil Spill Update: Way Worse Than They Told Us

Does Administration's Proposed Break-up of Offshore Oil Regulator Go Far Enough?

After Spill, More Gulf Drilling Plans Got Environmental Exemptions

Despite Previous Equipment Failure, BP Says Spill 'Seemed Inconceivable'

EPA Approves BP's Use of Questionable Chemicals to Break Up Oil

Regulators Let Industry Drill Deeper, Despite Safety Concerns and Unproven Fixes

Offshore Drilling Regulators Had Concerns, but Let Industry Self-Police

Govt Agency: Offshore Drilling Regulator Understated Risks of Oil Spills in Plans to Expand Drilling

NYT: We 'Should Have Included' Source's Industry Ties in Our Gulf Oil Spill Story

Nonprofit Conservation Group Has Ties to Oil Interests, Gulf Oil Spill

Oil Companies Pay a Pittance in Penalties to Offshore Drilling Regulator

Gulf Oil Spill Puts Spotlight on Regulator With Mixed Record