Debris made up of golf balls and rubber tyres may be used
to try to stem the Gulf of Mexico oil slick, BP officials say.
Full story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/americas/8672181.stm
BP ‘may stem oil with golf balls and tyres’
Hundreds of miles of booms are being
laid along the coastline
BP officials desperate to stem a huge oil spill in the Gulf of
Mexico are considering stuffing the well with golf balls and
tyres, it was revealed.
BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles said the so-called “junk
shot” of debris was one option after previous attempts to stem
the flow failed.
A growing slick from the BP-leased rig is threatening an
environmental disaster along US coasts.
Some 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons) of oil a day are flowing
into the sea.
Mr Suttles said it may be possible to stem the flow by blocking
the well’s failed blowout preventer.
“We have some pipe work on the blowout preventer, and if we can
open certain valves on that we could inject basically just rubber
and other type of material into [it] to plug it up, not much
different to the way you might plug up a toilet,” he said.
Admiral Thad Allen of the US Coast Guard said it could plug the
main leak.
“They’re going to take a bunch of debris, shredded up tyres, golf
balls and things like that, and under very high pressure shoot it
into the preventer itself and see if they can clog it up and stop
the leak,” he told CBS television.
ATTEMPTS TO CONTROL SLICK
– Booms have been partly successful although rough
seas have washed oil over them
– Some controlled burning of oil has taken place,
but it causes serious air pollution
– About 325,000 gallons of dispersant have been used,
although scientists warn it may kill marine life
– A relief well is being drilled but could many weeks
– A huge steel funnel suffered a build-up of ice-like
crystals and had to be put aside
However, experts have warned that any further damage to the blowout
preventer – a huge valve system meant to turn the oil off – could
see it shooting out at 12 times the current rate.
The Deepwater Horizon rig caught fire and sank following an explosion
last month.
The resulting slick has so far thwarted all efforts by BP and US
officials to bring it under control.
A 98-tonne concrete-and-steel funnel lowered 5,000ft (1,500m) to the
seabed had been BP’s best hope to contain the main leak while it
tried to stop it altogether by drilling relief wells nearby.
But a build-up of gas hydrates – crystalline water-based solids
resembling ice – inside the funnel blocked the exit at the top,
and it had to be put aside on Saturday.
Mr Suttles said other options being discussed were to make a smaller
containment dome or to tap into the broken riser pipe and take the
oil directly to the surface.
The broken pipe is almost a mile (1.6 km) down on the ocean floor with
little visibility for engineers using remotely controlled vehicles.
Wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico is
already suffering
Although the Deepwater Horizon was operated by Transocean, BP is
responsible for the clean-up.
The slick has so far covered about 2,000 sq miles (5,200 sq km).
US President Barack Obama is due to meet senior officials at the
White House on Monday to review BP’s efforts.
A sheen from the edge of the slick is surrounding island nature
reserves off Louisiana and tar balls have reached as far as the
Alabama coast.
The low-lying region contains vital spawning grounds for fish,
shrimp and crabs and is an important migratory stop for many species
of rare birds.
Louisiana’s fishing industry has ground to a halt in certain areas
due to health concerns about polluted fish.
Booms and bundles of absorbent material have been laid along
shorelines to try to protect them.
Teams are also filling sandbags which the Louisiana National Guard
will airlift on Monday to five spots along a threatened stretch of
coastline.