Louisiana deep oil drilling disaster

[Jan Klimkowski]

Scientists dispute White House claim that spilled BP oil has vanished

US government challenged over claims oil has evaporated

Tests show oil is affecting phytoplankton and staying on seabed

Wednesday 18 August 2010 19.57 BST

The White House is facing a growing challenge over its claim that most of the oil from the Deepwater disaster has disappeared from the Gulf of Mexico, as at least three independent teams of scientists reported new evidence of oil persisting deep under the surface of the sea.

Earlier this month government scientists reported that about 75% of the oil had been captured, burned off, evaporated or broken down in the Gulf.

But University of South Florida scientists, returning from a 10-day research voyage, said they found oil on the ocean floor in the DeSoto canyon, a prime spawning ground for fish far to the east of BP's rogue oil well.

Preliminary results suggested that oil was getting into the phytoplankton, the microscopic plants at the bottom of the Gulf food chain.

"The idea that this could have an impact on the food web and on the biological system is certainly a reality," David Hollander, a marine geochemist, told the University of South Florida radio station. Smaller organisms would be likely to be affected the most, he added.

"Fish eggs – if they're in that environment – they may not be consuming it, but it's like paint in the air. You breathe it at low concentrations for a long enough time, you're still going to have that response."

Scientists from the University of Georgia also disputed the White House claim, releasing their own analysis suggesting 70% to 79% of the oil in the Gulf of Mexico remained in the water. "The idea that 75% of the oil is gone and of no concern for the environment is just absolutely incorrect," said Charles Hopkinson, a marine science professor at the university.

The journal Science is also weighing in, with a research paper on a large and apparently long-lasting deepwater plume of oil in the Gulf following the spill.

And the Gulf Coast Fund, a citizens' group, maintains that oil is still washing ashore in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida panhandle. "Just because the oil is no longer on the surface, it does not indicate the area is healthy," said Wilma Subra, a chemist advising the group. "We've received reports from residents all along the coast who continue to see oil on and off shore, as well as reports of hundreds of dead fish, crabs, birds, dolphins, and other sea life."

Congress is due to examine the White House claims at a hearing tomorrow on the fate of the 5m barrels of oil that leaked into the Gulf from BP's well. The energy and commerce committee will also look at official claims that Gulf seafood is safe to eat.

BP might not be able to execute the final kill of its well until September, said Thad Allen, the US Coast Guard's former commander, recently retired.

Allen said that BP and government officials had yet to agree on a way to pump cement into the bottom of the well without putting too much pressure on a cement seal at the top. Engineers are assessing whether to install a new blow-out preventer or a new system for relieving pressure on the cap at the top of the well.

The debate about the fate of the oil is a product of the strategic decision taken by the BP and the Obama administration to tackle the oil offshore and prevent the waste penetrating Louisiana's ecologically fragile wetland; the move involved spraying nearly 2m gallons of chemical dispersants on the oil, some of it at depths of 1,524 metres (5,000ft).

The approach means that scientists are now operating in uncharted waters. BP's well caused the biggest offshore oil spill but never before had response teams used such outsize quantities of dispersants and at such depths.

The efforts to end the problem also led to fears that the chosen cure, in this case the chemical dispersant Corexit, was more dangerous than the ailment. Scientific research had suggested that Corexit made organisms more vulnerable to the toxic components in the oil.

The uncertainties about the long-term consequences of the oil spill have complicated efforts by BP and the Obama administration to move to a long-term response plan. The administration is demanding new pressure tests before it gives the go-ahead for the completion of a relief well.

BP said it was winding down its claims operation, and that today would be the last day it would consider claims from anyone suffering economic losses through the spill. All new claims would be overseen by Ken Feinberg, an independent administrator appointed to oversee the $20bn BP escrow account. BP said its team had so far paid out $368m to claimants.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/20...l-vanished