U.S. Environmental Services' workers move oil containment boom onto a supply boat in Venice, La., April 29, 2010. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Patrick Kelley. Click the photo for full resolution.
By Ian Graham
While states along the Gulf of Mexico and the federal government work to keep oil off of their shores, British Petroleum and government officials say work is moving quickly to plug the holes at the source of the spill.
Doug Suttles, chief operating officer for BP, said in a press conference yesterday afternoon that despite early reports, the flow of oil into the gulf has not reduced. He did say that work was going on currently that would ideally plug one of the holes.
Tomorrow, he added, the main oil container – essentially a funnel to place over the leaking equipment to collect spilling oil – will be ready to put in place. More containers will be ready in the following days, but he couldn’t say exactly how soon.
Suttles also said BP began drilling holes that will eventually carry drilling materials and cement into the oil well to plug the leak permanently from within at 3 p.m. Central Time yesterday.
“Everybody is committed to get the flow stopped so we can get on to the clean-up,” he said.
Rear Adm. Mary Landry, commander of the U.S. Coast Guard’s 8th District and federal on-scene coordinator for the response group, said every available measure is being taken to minimize the impact of the spill on the environment as well as the regional economy. “This is an all-hands-on-deck response,” she said. For more information, read Defense.gov’s “Military Supports Supports Federal Oil Spill Response.”
For more information, visit the Deepwater Horizon Response website.
Watch The Pentagon Channel’s report on the Guard’s Response to the oil spill.
Bad weather has delayed some clean-up efforts, as the water has been too rough for skimming or burning oil from the surface. When the weather clears, skimming and burning operations will resume, and aerial views will indicate whether undersea dispersant chemicals have been effective in breaking up the oil sheen.
There have been concerns raised over the use of high volumes of chemicals to break up the oil, but Charlie Henry, the lead science coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said studies were completed long before the accident to test dispersant and determine if the benefit outweighed the possible negative effects the chemicals may have.
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