In May 2010, then-BP CEO Tony Hayward gave a news conference at Fourchon Beach in Port Fourchon, La. Patrick Semansky/AP hide caption
The BP Oil Spill, One Year Later NPR marks the April 20 anniversary of BP's Deepwater Horizon rig explosion with a series of stories that look at the Gulf Coast and at BP one year after the worst oil spill in history.
Special Series
The BP Oil Spill, One Year Later
NPR marks the anniversary with a series of stories that look at the Gulf Coast and at BP.
Phil Radford, executive director of Greenpeace USA, inspects oil-covered reeds while visiting the disaster site on May 20, 2010 south of Venice, Louisiana. A year after the spill, BP has yet to distribute $450 million dollars to scientists studying the disaster. John Moore/Getty Images hide caption
Cleanup crews in the marshlands in Louisiana are using a long-armed machine with a rake on the end to help restore areas that were inundated with oil from the BP spill last April. Elizabeth Shogren/NPR hide caption
Monsignor Frederic Brunet blesses the boat the Maycie Brooke before climbing aboard the vessel to begin the boat blessing parade, in Chauvin, La. William Widmer for NPR hide caption
The Deepwater Horizon oil rig burns in the Gulf of Mexico, April 21, 2010. Investigations before and after the disaster found the agency responsible for overseeing the industry quite friendly with those it regulated. Gerald Herbert/AP hide caption
Teens walk past a closed oyster business last week in Golden Meadow, La. A number of Louisiana fishermen have had to close because of economic conditions blamed on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Nearly a year after the spill, hundreds of lawsuits are slowly moving through the courts. Dave Martin/AP hide caption
A family from New Orleans visits a beach in Pensacola, Fla., just before spring break season last month. In the distance, workers continue to clean up after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Eric Thayer/Getty Images hide caption
Seafood samples are placed in Pyrex dishes to await sensory analysis. Inspectors will sniff for the slightest whiff of oil. Samples are also cooked for a taste test to detect any problems. Debbie Elliott/NPR hide caption