OIL SPILL SPREADING

Gulf Coast fears spreading slick, fishing ban widens
Michael Haskins (w/Matthew Bigg, Steve Gorman, Anna Driver, Tom Brown, Jane Sutton, Richard Cowan, Tom Doggett, Ayesha Rascoe, Sarah Young, Pascal Fletcher, Jeff Mason, Ed Stoddard and Paul Simao), May 18, 2010 (Reuters)

"Fears that oil from a massive Gulf of Mexico spill was drifting to U.S. shorelines rose…after tar balls were found in Florida, while BP faced mounting pressure to stem its leaking well…[T]he United States nearly doubled a no-fishing zone in waters seen affected by the oil gushing from the blown well, extending it to 19 percent of U.S. waters in the Gulf…

"London-based BP, which has seen $30 billion wiped from its market value, said it was capturing an estimated 2,000 barrels per day (84,000 gallons/318,000 liters) after inserting a siphon tube into the well…That was about 40 percent of the 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons/795,000 liters) BP estimated was leaking each day…But a new video of the well showed what appeared to be vast amounts of oil continuing to spew into the ocean…While officials have stressed the slick's limited impact on prized Gulf beaches, fisheries and wildlife, the discovery of tar balls on a Key West island resort…stoked concern that currents were greatly expanding the oil's reach…Oil debris and tar balls have been reported in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi…"

From PigMine via YouTube

"The appearance of new tar balls on a beach is often an indication of an oil spill…Tests were being done to confirm whether the 20 new tar balls -- they ranged from three to eight inches in diameter -- came from the BP spill, which threatens to eclipse the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill off Alaska to become the worst ecological disaster in U.S. history…[A] forecast by University of South Florida College of Marine Science experts who said part of the oil slick may reach the Keys in five to six days, and possibly Miami five days after that…

"…[BP] has offered to pay spill-related damages, [and] estimated the bill for the cleanup at $625 million, $175 million higher than a few days ago. Analysts say costs could reach into the billions… Interior Secretary Ken Salazar told a Senate panel the government was investigating [BP’s] Atlantis oil production platform in the Gulf…Salazar also admitted that the Minerals Management Service fell short in preventing the explosion and oil spill…"

From Federaljacktube via YouTube

"Many experts believe oil from the Gulf of Mexico spill may have already been caught up in the powerful Loop Current curling around the Florida Peninsula, which could take it into the Keys and possibly up the East Coast…"

[Senator Bill Nelson (D-Fla):] "While I always hope for the best, this is looking like really out-of-control bad…"