BP Oil Spill Update

BP continues to collect oil via the Riser Insertion Tube Tool (RITT) containment system. An estimated 5,000 barrels are being accrued each day into the ships above. The total amount of oily water that has been collected from the surface amounts to approximately 7.8 million gallons (187,000 barrels). Additionally 1.9 million feet (359.848 miles) of oil boom has been deployed to protect shores and sensitive wildlife areas in the Gulf.

In recent talks BP has told US Representative Edward Markey that they will release a real-time video feed of the oil leak off the coast of Louisiana. This live video coverage is expected to be available on the BP website within the week although portions of video have been released by BP showing oil still leaking from the RITT.

Actor Kevin Costner has just unveiled his “fantastic contraption” , a water filtration device that separates oil from water using centrifugal forces. The end result being water that is 97% oil free. BP plans to install a few of these devices onto some of their vessels.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has officially confirmed that a “light sheen” of oil has in fact entered into the Loop Current. Experts say that the oil could reach Florida in six days, although it will most likely be diluted or mostly evaporated by the time of it’s arrival.

According to the NOAA website:

“the loop current is an area of warm water that comes up from the Caribbean, past the Yucatan Peninsula, and into the Gulf of Mexico. The current is also known as the Florida current as it flows through the Florida Strait and then into the Gulf Stream as it heads north to the east coast of the U.S. Both the location of the loop current and the location of the oil slick are dynamic. Both move around from day to day. Satellite imagery on May 17 indicates that the bulk of the oil is dozens of miles away from the loop current, but a tendril of light oil has been transported close to the loop.”

Tar balls found on beaches in close proximity to the spill have been tested and deemed not related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

New images have been released depicting the result of oil on Louisiana shores and can be viewed here.

A new Government Coalition has been created to oversee and police offshore drilling ventures to preempt and prevent future disasters.

NOAA has suspended fishing in nearly 46,000 square miles, or about 19 percent of federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico.

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2010/images/fishingmap1.jpg (credit NOAA)

Although the Gulf of Mexico only accounts for about 2% of all of the United States’ fish intake. The biggest blow to the fishing industry is going to be the decreased availability of shrimp and oysters, because the Gulf is the United States’ primary source. The price of shrimp and oysters are expected to skyrocket.

Pelicans and turtles have been affected by the spill, and wildlife authorities are treating many such animals.

The Environmental Protection Agency has stated that current dispersants used are too toxic to the environment and requires that BP use less toxic means of dispersing.