July 6, 2010

Day 77: The Latest on the Oil Spill

Capture and Containment Efforts Continue
BP reported Tuesday that its capture systems at the blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico collected or burned off 24,980 barrels of oil on Monday. Mark Proegler, a BP spokesman, said preparations continued for hooking a third vessel, the Helix Producer, up to the systems, which would increase the capture capacity from 28,000 barrels a day to 53,000 barrels. Skimming operations across the gulf have scooped up about 23.5 million gallons of oiled water so far.
Oil Spotted in Lake Pontchartrain
Oil sheen and tar balls from the spill have been spotted in Lake Pontchartrain, which forms the northern boundary of New Orleans and was rescued in the 1990s from rampant pollution, according to the unified command for the spill. Response crews placed a combined 600 feet of hard and soft boom in the Rigolets strait to prevent more oil from getting through to the lake. Nineteen manual skimming vessels and four decontamination vessels based out of Orleans and St. Tammany Parishes were dispatched to the oiled areas.
An interactive map tracking the spill and where it has made landfall, live video of the leak, a guide to online spill resources and additional updates: nytimes.com/national.