New scale of disaster looms in Gulf of Mexico

Image by Coast Guard News via Flickr

clipped from news.yahoo.com NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AFP) – Concern grew Sunday that the US Gulf coast is facing a whole new level of environmental disaster after the best short-term fix for a massive oil spill ran into serious trouble. BP's giant containment box lay idle on the seabed as engineers furiously tried to figure out how to stop it clogging with ice crystals. The British energy giant, which owns the lion's share of the leaking oil and has accepted responsibility for the clean-up, has tried to banish the notion that the dome is a "silver bullet" to end the crisis. But should efforts fail to make the giant funnel system effective, there is no solid plan B to prevent potentially tens of millions of gallons of crude from causing one of the worst ever environmental catastrophes. Untold damage is already being done by the 3.5 million gallons estimated to be in the sea so far, but the extent of that harm will rise exponentially if the only solution is a relief well that takes months to drill.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Gulf of Mexico oil slick: containment dome problems could take days to fix (telegraph.co.uk)
• BP wrestles with oil spill hitch (news.bbc.co.uk)
• Sheen of oil confirmed ashore on Louisiana island as BP begins operation (calgaryherald.com)
• Major oil spill was deemed 'unlikely' in BP study (ctv.ca)
• BP plan deemed major spill from Gulf well unlikely (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Agencies to Hold Oil Spill Probe Hearing Tues. (abcnews.go.com)
• Attempt to contain BP oil leak hit by major setback (telegraph.co.uk)
• Gulf of Mexico oil slick containment dome suffers setback (telegraph.co.uk)
• After setback, BP plans new attempt to stop oil leak (ctv.ca)
• BP Plan Deemed Major Spill From Gulf Well Unlikely (abcnews.go.com)