Chapter 16

Assessing the Increase in Background Oil–Contamination Levels Along Alabama's Beaches Resulting From the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

T.P. Clement, G.F. John, and F. Yin     Auburn University, Auburn, AL, United States

Abstract

The explosion of the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil drilling rig resulted in widespread contamination of Alabama's white sandy beaches. These beaches continue to be impacted by the various forms of oil spill residues that were formed from the DWH oil. We review published literature and several federal cleanup response reports to develop a set of hypotheses that are broadly used to describe the DWH oil spill–related contamination problems and their impacts on Alabama's beaches. We later test the validity of these hypotheses ...

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