by Clement Sabourin Clement Sabourin – 26 mins ago
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AFP) – Crude oil spread through fragile US marshlands Thursday, a month after a drilling rig blast triggered a devastating spill that now threatens Florida, Cuba and even beyond.
While BP touted progress in containing the spreading crude and said a tube was now siphoning away 3,000 barrels of oil a day from the Gulf of Mexico leak, a nightmare scene unfolded in Louisiana's wetlands.
The British energy giant is readying for what has been dubbed a "dynamic kill" when it hopes to try to seal the leak permanently.
US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar raised expectations the move -- in which heavy drilling fluids are injected into the well to stem the oil flow, followed by a cement operation to seal it -- would take place on Sunday.
"Our priority is to stop the well from leaking because that's where the cancer is and we need to get that stopped," Salazar said.
But for Louisiana's fragile wetlands the measure -- four weeks after an explosion crippled and then sank the Deepwater Horizon rig 50 miles (80 kilometers) off the coast -- maybe too late.
"The day that we have all been fearing is upon us today," Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said Wednesday after taking a boat tour of the affected area.
"Heavy oil" had entered the marshlands, he told reporters, grimly warning "we know more is coming."
Oil has been pouring into the Gulf since the massive April 20 explosion on the BP-leased rig that killed 11 workers and ruptured an underwater well pipe.
The crude is now being swept toward Florida's tourist beaches and fragile coral reefs by the powerful Loop Current, that could wash oil ashore within days, and carry it up the US East Coast and even into the Gulf Stream.
Oil in the current could cause massive damage to the rich marine life which rides the ocean super-highway from spawning zones to areas where they mature, experts warned.
Louisiana biologists said they rescued an endangered Kemp's Ridley sea turtle this week whose exterior was heavily oiled, the first found so far.
South of Venice, the seaport where BP has established its response headquarters, oil was seeping into the marshes at a rapid pace.
Shiny tar balls were caught in thickets of reeds where crabs swarmed about, their shells daubed by crude. In some spots, a thick blanket of oil hung at the bottom of the marsh.
All eyes are still on BP which has battled to contain and ultimately halt the leak.
Salazar cautioned that the "dynamic kill", which will unfold nearly a mile (1,500 meters) below the surface, was "not risk-free."
The firm has also considered combining that operation with a "junk shot," where golf balls, rubber tire parts, plastic and other debris would be injected under pressure into the valve known as a blowout preventer to clog it up.
BP estimates that some 5,000 barrels, or 210,000 gallons, a day of crude is spewing from the wreckage of the rig, although independent experts warn the flow rate could be at least 10 times higher.
Salazar said the US government would issue its own "independent" estimate of the scope of the slick within days based on satellite imagery.
BP, which has claimed the environmental impact of the spill would be "very modest," agreed to a US lawmaker's request for a live video feed of the oil leak, which could help scientists better assess the flow's rate.
On Wednesday the European Space Agency satellites showed oil being pulled into the powerful clockwise-moving Loop Current that joins the Gulf Stream, the northern hemisphere's most important ocean current system.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the main US agency monitoring the spill, agreed a small portion of the slick had entered the current "in the form of light to very light sheens."
But it tried to temper fears, saying the oil may never reach Florida and if it does, it "would be highly weathered" with evaporation and chemical dispersants having "significantly" reduced the volume.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100520/wl_afp/usblastoilenergypollution
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AFP) – Crude oil spread through fragile US marshlands Thursday, a month after a drilling rig blast triggered a devastating spill that now threatens Florida, Cuba and even beyond.
While BP touted progress in containing the spreading crude and said a tube was now siphoning away 3,000 barrels of oil a day from the Gulf of Mexico leak, a nightmare scene unfolded in Louisiana's wetlands.
The British energy giant is readying for what has been dubbed a "dynamic kill" when it hopes to try to seal the leak permanently.
US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar raised expectations the move -- in which heavy drilling fluids are injected into the well to stem the oil flow, followed by a cement operation to seal it -- would take place on Sunday.
"Our priority is to stop the well from leaking because that's where the cancer is and we need to get that stopped," Salazar said.
But for Louisiana's fragile wetlands the measure -- four weeks after an explosion crippled and then sank the Deepwater Horizon rig 50 miles (80 kilometers) off the coast -- maybe too late.
"The day that we have all been fearing is upon us today," Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said Wednesday after taking a boat tour of the affected area.
"Heavy oil" had entered the marshlands, he told reporters, grimly warning "we know more is coming."
Oil has been pouring into the Gulf since the massive April 20 explosion on the BP-leased rig that killed 11 workers and ruptured an underwater well pipe.
The crude is now being swept toward Florida's tourist beaches and fragile coral reefs by the powerful Loop Current, that could wash oil ashore within days, and carry it up the US East Coast and even into the Gulf Stream.
Oil in the current could cause massive damage to the rich marine life which rides the ocean super-highway from spawning zones to areas where they mature, experts warned.
Louisiana biologists said they rescued an endangered Kemp's Ridley sea turtle this week whose exterior was heavily oiled, the first found so far.
South of Venice, the seaport where BP has established its response headquarters, oil was seeping into the marshes at a rapid pace.
Shiny tar balls were caught in thickets of reeds where crabs swarmed about, their shells daubed by crude. In some spots, a thick blanket of oil hung at the bottom of the marsh.
All eyes are still on BP which has battled to contain and ultimately halt the leak.
Salazar cautioned that the "dynamic kill", which will unfold nearly a mile (1,500 meters) below the surface, was "not risk-free."
The firm has also considered combining that operation with a "junk shot," where golf balls, rubber tire parts, plastic and other debris would be injected under pressure into the valve known as a blowout preventer to clog it up.
BP estimates that some 5,000 barrels, or 210,000 gallons, a day of crude is spewing from the wreckage of the rig, although independent experts warn the flow rate could be at least 10 times higher.
Salazar said the US government would issue its own "independent" estimate of the scope of the slick within days based on satellite imagery.
BP, which has claimed the environmental impact of the spill would be "very modest," agreed to a US lawmaker's request for a live video feed of the oil leak, which could help scientists better assess the flow's rate.
On Wednesday the European Space Agency satellites showed oil being pulled into the powerful clockwise-moving Loop Current that joins the Gulf Stream, the northern hemisphere's most important ocean current system.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the main US agency monitoring the spill, agreed a small portion of the slick had entered the current "in the form of light to very light sheens."
But it tried to temper fears, saying the oil may never reach Florida and if it does, it "would be highly weathered" with evaporation and chemical dispersants having "significantly" reduced the volume.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100520/wl_afp/usblastoilenergypollution
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