Breakout the orange floating booms, nasty crude oil is heading our way and could do so for the next 90 days. We are hearing that an experimental unmanned sub is trying to cap the Deep Horizon well – at 5,000 feet below the surface. Such a feat has never been done. An alternative is to drill a second well – which could take 30 to 90 days.
According to the Dept of Interior, there is a 600-mile circumference rainbow sheen with areas of emulsified crude approximately 36 miles offshore the coast of Louisiana. More than 29,280 feet of boom (barrier) has been assigned to contain the spill. An additional 80,900 feet is available and 36,100 feet has been ordered.
To date, the oil spill response team has recovered 1,152 barrels (43,384 gallons) of an oil-water mix. Vessels are in place and continuing recovery operations. 49 response vessels are being used including skimmers, tugs, barges, and recovery vessels. 29,140 gallons of dispersant have been deployed and an additional 119,734 gallons are available.
Five staging areas are in place and ready to protect sensitive shorelines. These areas include: Biloxi, Miss., Pensacola, Fla. Venice, La., Pascagoula, Miss. and Theodore, Ala.
Here is a graph of the sheen.