Protecting Workers in Large-Scale Emergency Responses

On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) semisubmersible Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit, located 45 miles southeast off the Louisiana coast, suffered a massive explosion and subsequent fire that ultimately led to the sinking of the Unit. Eleven workers lost their lives as a result of the explosion and fire, and seventeen other workers were injured. Oil from a subsea blowout began flowing into the Gulf of Mexico soon after the explosion, and continued to flow until the well was finally capped on July 15, 2010.