Gulf disaster far from being over
Although the Gulf of Mexico well under the waters has been sealed and is not leaking any more crude oil into the Gulf waters, this is considered to be the worst oil spill in United States history and will continue to be felt along the Gulf Coast for a long time.National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration issued a report saying that three quarters of the oil spilled between late April and the middle of July has already been collected, dispersed or evaporated, but Former Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen says that the job is not finished until all the oil is gone from the gulf waters. He says that this oil spill is a catastrophe not only for the environment and the marine life, but also for the people living in that area, which are also affected. Carol Browner, the White House environmental adviser, says that only the first phase of the disaster is over and that there is a lot of work to be done. The well erupted because of the explosion from the drilling rig Deepwater Horizon which took place on the 20th of April and killed 11 people that day. The technical issue of sealing the well was solved on the 15th of July with the help of 3,000 barrels of mud and cement which were stuck in the whole from the well.
The final step which will fix the problem is expected to be completed sometime between the 13th and the 15th of August and is expected to permanently seal the blowout from below. Jim Lestelle, a spokesman for the relief effort, says that they are drilling the last 100 feet of the relief well which is going to meet the blown out bore. Thad Allen says that this whole story had a negative impact on some industries from the gulf shore, like the tourism and the fishing, but they are already starting to recovery in the parts where the oils has been cleaned. Some of the beaches have been already reopened, and so did the fisheries, but the area will have to be NOAA and FDA tested for seafood safety. The well has spilled about 53,000 barrels of crude oil per day into the waters before it was sealed. Since the, even the most affected areas, like the marshes of southern Louisiana, have started recovering, and grass started growing almost everywhere, although there is still some oil floating. Maura Wood, of the National Wildlife Federation said that there is still a lot of cleaning up to do, but they are bothered by the tide which keeps coming and going each day. There is an estimated amount of 1 million barrels of oil floating on the surface of the gulf waters, and the government together with BP is struggling to keep the oil out of beaches and coast marches.11
