Photo credit should read NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images
Facebook abandoned broken equipment and thousands of gallons of drilling fluid under the ocean floor just off the coast of Oregon in April. The company was constructing a landing site for an undersea telecommunications cable when it hit an unexpected snag. A drill bit broke and got stuck after hitting hard rock about 50 feet under the seafloor on April 28th, Oregon Live and the Tillamook Headlight-Herald first reported in early August.
Residents of the seaside community of Tierra del Mar, Oregon, have feared that construction of the landing site would cause problems for locals and the environment since it was first proposed in 2018. One of the biggest threats with an incident like this, experts say,…