U.S. Military May be Called On to Assist with Oil Spill in Gulf of Mexico
April 29th, 2010Via: CNN:
The U.S. military may be called on to assist authorities scrambling to mitigate a potential environmental disaster posed by an oil spill expanding toward the Gulf Coast, the Coast Guard said Thursday.
In addition, another controlled burn of the oil slick may be conducted, Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Erik Swanson said.
“We’re preparing as many resources as possible,” Swanson said, “and we’re considering many different options.”
Those options include bringing in the Department of Defense, he said. The military could be enlisted to drop or spray more dispersants on the oil, although specifics are still being developed, Swanson said.
Officials said late Wednesday the estimated amount of oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico from three underwater leaks after last week’s oil rig explosion has increased to as many as 5,000 barrels, or 210,000 gallons, a day — five times more than what was initially believed.
The cause of the explosion remains under investigation, and search efforts have been halted for 11 missing workers.
Rear Adm. Mary Landry told reporters late Wednesday that the increased estimate is based on analysis from the federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“This is not an exact science when you estimate the amount of oil,” Landry said, noting there are a lot of variables in calculating the rate of the spill.
“However, NOAA is telling me now that they prefer we use the 5,000 barrels [210,000 gallons] a day as an estimate of what has actually leaked from this well and will continue to leak until BP secures the source.”
Some 250,000 gallons of oily water has been collected from the scene, she said.
BP is the owner of the well, while Transocean Ltd. owns and operates the rig.
