Dispersant fired at oil gusher underwater
Source: Agencies |
May 11, 2010, Tuesday
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A REMOTE-controlled submarine shot a chemical dispersant into the maw of a massive undersea oil leak yesterday, further evidence that authorities expect the gusher to keep erupting into the Gulf of Mexico for weeks or more.
Crews using the deep-sea robot attempted to thin the oil - which is rushing up from the seabed at a pace of about 800,000 liters per day - after getting approval from the Environmental Protection Agency, said BP spokesman Mark Proegler.
The agency had halted two previous rounds of the dispersant to test its potential impact on the environment, and approved a third round of spraying that began early yesterday, Proegler said. An EPA spokeswoman didn't immediately return messages seeking comment.
BP engineers, casting about after an ice buildup thwarted their plan to siphon off most of the leak using a 100-ton containment box, pushed ahead with other potential short-term solutions, including using a smaller box and injecting the leak to plug it.
However, none of these have been tried so deep - about 1.6 kilometers down.
Workers were also drilling a relief well, the solution considered most permanent, but that was expected to take up to three months.
At least 13.3 million liters were believed to have leaked since an April 20 drilling rig blast killed 11. If the gusher continues unabated, in about a month it would surpass the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster as the worst US oil spill.
The engineers appear to be "trying anything people can think of" to stop the leak, said Ed Overton, a Louisiana State University professor of environmental studies.
Back on land, authorities in Louisiana deployed helicopters to drop sandbags the size of elephants along barrier islands and marshes already being lapped at by a sheen of oil. Authorities also planned to use south Louisiana's system of locks and levees to release water to help keep the worst of the oil at sea.
BP - which is responsible for the cleanup - said yesterday the spill has cost it US$350 million so far for immediate response, containment efforts, commitments to the Gulf Coast states, and settlements and federal costs. It did not speculate on the final bill, expected to run into tens of billions of dollars.
Among plans under consideration for the gusher, BP is looking at cutting the riser pipe, which extends from the well, undersea and using larger piping to bring the gushing oil to a drill ship on the surface, a tactic considered difficult and less desirable because it will increase the flow of oil.
Above the oil leak, waves of black sludge crashed into the support ship Joe Griffin. The fumes there were so intense a crew member and an AP photographer on board had to wear respirators on deck.
Crews using the deep-sea robot attempted to thin the oil - which is rushing up from the seabed at a pace of about 800,000 liters per day - after getting approval from the Environmental Protection Agency, said BP spokesman Mark Proegler.
The agency had halted two previous rounds of the dispersant to test its potential impact on the environment, and approved a third round of spraying that began early yesterday, Proegler said. An EPA spokeswoman didn't immediately return messages seeking comment.
BP engineers, casting about after an ice buildup thwarted their plan to siphon off most of the leak using a 100-ton containment box, pushed ahead with other potential short-term solutions, including using a smaller box and injecting the leak to plug it.
However, none of these have been tried so deep - about 1.6 kilometers down.
Workers were also drilling a relief well, the solution considered most permanent, but that was expected to take up to three months.
At least 13.3 million liters were believed to have leaked since an April 20 drilling rig blast killed 11. If the gusher continues unabated, in about a month it would surpass the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster as the worst US oil spill.
The engineers appear to be "trying anything people can think of" to stop the leak, said Ed Overton, a Louisiana State University professor of environmental studies.
Back on land, authorities in Louisiana deployed helicopters to drop sandbags the size of elephants along barrier islands and marshes already being lapped at by a sheen of oil. Authorities also planned to use south Louisiana's system of locks and levees to release water to help keep the worst of the oil at sea.
BP - which is responsible for the cleanup - said yesterday the spill has cost it US$350 million so far for immediate response, containment efforts, commitments to the Gulf Coast states, and settlements and federal costs. It did not speculate on the final bill, expected to run into tens of billions of dollars.
Among plans under consideration for the gusher, BP is looking at cutting the riser pipe, which extends from the well, undersea and using larger piping to bring the gushing oil to a drill ship on the surface, a tactic considered difficult and less desirable because it will increase the flow of oil.
Above the oil leak, waves of black sludge crashed into the support ship Joe Griffin. The fumes there were so intense a crew member and an AP photographer on board had to wear respirators on deck.
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