Despite losing eleven people in a horrific offshore explosion, coastal communities are bracing for what may be the worst scenario yet in the drama of the oil platform Deepwater Horizon: an oil spill.
An estimated 42,000 gallons a day are leaking from the well that sits 5,000 feet below where the oil platform once stood before burning down and sinking. While it would take another 260 days to enter the history books as the worst oil spill ever, rivlaling the 11 million gallons spilled the Exxon Valdez disaster in Alaska, the environmental impact that the current oil spill represents is catastrophic.
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British Petroleum, who leased the platform, is responsible for the cleanup operations. This has not been an easy task, as no one has ever tried shutting off a leaking well 5,000 feet below the surface of the water. BP first tried robotic submarines to do the work, but have so far failed, as the oil slick is now more than the surface area of the city of Los Angeles, and as of Tuesday evening, is less than 20 miles from Louisiana’s shoreline. As ships as skimming the water for oil, and planes are dropping dispersant, BP is trying it’s best to avoid a PR disaster.
Doug Suttles, COO for exploration and production at BP, told the New York Times, that while they have the best technology to clean up the oil, no one has ever tried to do it 5,000 feet under the sea.
“It’s never been deployed in 5,000 feet of water,” he told the Times. “But we have the world’s best experts working on that right now.”
Meanwhile, Louisiana and federal authorities are monitoring the effects on local sea life. Some predict the worst for the fragile ecosystem, whose economy relies heavily on the oysters, shrimp and fish that live in the polluted waters.
While no one doubts BP’s resolve, the limits of technology are certainly being questioned. In the meantime, coastal residents of Louisiana are hoping science can indeed save the day.
