BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Budget Report - Essay Example

The report itself utilized many acronyms however, each of these was explained before the use of said acronym with the first usage of an acronym being the name of the agency assembling the report, National Incident Command (NIC). Each acronym upon initial use was expanded to show the meaning of the acronym should it be used later in the report. One specific figure was used to assist in visually clarifying the best estimates of what happened to the oil that was released as a result of the incident. This was done on the first page of the report itself.  In additional places of the report that may have required charts or figures to help understand the reported estimates and percentages links to alternative locations were given which further clarified the report. The links available did not necessarily clarify the information; the links themselves should have included information that summarized the reason for the links.

Additionally, the report itself was relatively short without repetitive phrasing or unnecessary information. It could be said that the report was too brief for what was expected of the report. However, the authors did make it clear that they expected additional information to be added as time went on. The same terminology was used throughout the report itself which allowed for a consistent approach and clarity in reading. Style changes were non-existent and all proper grammatical approaches seemed to be in order. From the date of the initial incident until the date the report was completed was a short length of time, given that a report of this nature requires a thorough review this seemed more expedient than it should have been. When incidents like this occur there is generally a demand for immediate information and knowledge as to what has and will be occurring, however, because it is important to assess the data appropriately this report was completed in an appropriate amount of time.

The report itself seemed to only explain events and did not clarify if there were a course of action suggested. Those writing the report explained several ways the oil was dissipating however, did not clearly state what action was being taken to further reduce wastage. A brief mention was made of the response being taken, in one line they explained that the spilled oil was being burned, skimmed, and chemically dispersed. None of these terms were further explained. One available suggestion for additional cleanup efforts from a University of Delaware report first explains that no oil spill is alike. As a result, some may require immediate attention, and others may require being left alone. In this case, the use of dispersants to break up the oil and speed its natural biodegradation would help. Dispersants according to the University report act by reducing the surface tension that stops the oil and water from mixing; this allows the oil to be rapidly diluted into the water (University of Delaware, 1).

Given the available sources and the team working on the report itself, the information gathered and disbursed within the report was accurate as possible before future additions that will come as the team gains a better understanding. This particular report seems to agree with other available reports specifically with a letter from the US House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology that while detailing various minor issues seemed to confirm that the report was a peer-reviewed document representing available data with accuracy (Hall, Johnson, 3). The conclusion is that the report is indeed complete. Due to its being a scientific report put together to be shown to individuals without a scientific background in this area the report was very well done and showed a positive approach but lacked the creativity seen in other less scientific reports.