People of the media, who supposed to know the language! It is not an oil spill, it is a freaking leak. Here is the difference: Spill is what occurs to teenagers when they have a premature ejaculation as in: "I spilled my seed all over my GF's pants." Leak is what occurs to the elderly as in: " My anal leakage is so bad, that now I have to wear diapers." In one word the difference is continuity. Leakage is continuous, spill happens once or just a few times...
It's not a 'leak', it's a gusher. One of the strongest oil-wells on record, releasing oil at a phenomenal rate, at its maximum possible rate. A 'leak' is -- well, you know what a leak is. This is not a 'leak'.
Gusher as in: "female who actually squirts when having an orgasm" ?? That would indicate one time action... Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Gushing leak. Gushing is the adjective telling what kind, leak is the noun explaining what it is. When the Titanic met the iceberg, it also had a leak, which was also a gusher I guess. Nevertheless it was still a leak... Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! By the way size-wise it is not big, it is the pressure that makes it dangerous and time. Even a small leak can fill up a big boat if you give it enough time....But anyway, I will meet you halfway, it is definiately not a spill....
A leak is an accidental or otherwise unintended breach through which a substance passes out from a place or object in which it was meant to be contained. A spill is the (usually accidental or wasteful) running or falling of a substance from a place or object in which it was meant to be contained. A spill can occur by tipping over a container, whereas a leak requires failure of structure or outright breakage of the container. I prefer "leak" in this case, because "spill" carries a strong implication of the substance traveling downward, or at the very least spreading out horizontally. Due to gravity and the difference in density between water and oil, the substance in this case is traveling upward. Furthermore, "leak" implies breakage, whereas "spill" can be from overflow or various other less traumatic causes. I felt the same way about the Exxon Valdez. The hull of the ship broke, and oil from below the waterline rose up before it spread out. This too was a leak, not a spill. Nonetheless, the Exxon Valdez disaster is uniformly called a "spill."
Fraggle, I think the definition depends more on the time, then on the location. If a dam is cracked, it has a leak, not a spill, because it is losing the water continuously. Spill is usually a one time or a shorter period occurance. Leaking information is when we have a mole. I spilled the beans when I accidentally misspoke. But if spill indicates a downward movement then it is wrong anyway, because the oil is moving upward from the reservoir... In the case of Exxon Valdez using spill was OK, because it only lasted until it leaked the tanker dry. Oh wait..... Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Well, if I have a drum of oil and I turn it over letting the whole of it running out, that is a spill. I spilled the oil out of the drum. Now if I put a small hole at the bottom, then I am leaking the oil out of the drum....(it takes longer time)
