Oil lingering in waters off Alabama, Mississippi and Florida beaches

[Generic Other]

A good deal of oil remains in the shallow waters closest to the beaches in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, according to a federal team using shovels and snorkeling gear to survey the coastline for submerged oil.

The team found tarballs washing ashore with every wave Wednesday morning in the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge. And just off the beach, in about 3 feet of water, the team found bands of oil buried under 4 or 5 inches of clean sand.

<snip>

In the potholes he dug Wednesday morning, Farrar reported that from 10 to 25 percent of the material in his shovel was oil, with the rest composed of sand and seashells. In some areas, the team has documented large mats of tar.

“The tar mats vary greatly. The biggest mat we found was about (150 feet by 210 feet). That was in Pensacola Bay. Some of them are much smaller,” Farrar said. “Usually, they are an inch to an inch-and-a-half thick, though we’ve seen 2 or 3 inches in different spots.”

In Pensacola, more than 3,000 pounds of an oil-sand mix was dredged up in a single day in some areas where Farrar’s team documented oil, according to BP officials.

http://blog.al.com/live/2010/09/oil_lingering_in_waters_off_al.html

And yet, BP is paying travel writers to come do stories about how clean and safe the beaches are.

[Bobbieo]

1. It will be years to clean up the Gulf waters - if they ever will clean up.

This disaster was man-made and so unnecessary. That is why I fear new ventures in oil exploration and mining. You simply cannot not trust anyone to take the responsibility for the safety and welfare of the people and wildlife in the surrounding areas

[Generic Other]

2. Pensacola is a mess

They continue to bury the problem and try to wish it away!

[blindpig]

3. k&r

It ain't over just because BP and a compliant government said so.

[truedelphi]

4. Hi Blindpig. I was sadly and seriously overwhelmed by the complicity of

The EPA Director in her testimony before Congressional panel yesterday.

Apparently, as long as she declares that the dispersant "worked" she can go on to say that there is "no evidence that it poses a risk to mammalian or human health."

And that is one true statement! After all, since the dispersant has not been used before in this manner, we have "no evidence" about risks or anything else.

[Urban Prairie]

5. Yep,...BP is doing much the same...just like the sand

is covering over and burying layers of dispersed crude, BP is attempting to cover over and bury any potentially revealing information that may be "leaked" to the public regarding the extent of damage that has and/or still is happening to the Gulf ecosystem with their "Bullshit Propaganda".

BP is fortunate that the recession has been so brutal to so many in the US, which makes it very difficult for those who were or are being directly or indirectly affected by the catastrophe, to make their voices heard, or donate their time and/or money, or assist in some small way with the cleanup efforts. Most are too busy just trying to survive day to day, and are trying to avoid having a complete "financial" catastrophe of their own, that is, if it hasn't happened to them already.

[gratuitous]

6. Well, sure, if you're going to look for it and stuff

You're probably going to find some oil.

I had a little :wtf: moment last night as NBC Nightly News was doing a report on this. They mentioned that there still seemed to be rather a large amount of petroleum product in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, despite what "some people" had been saying to the contrary. This is the same NBC that seemed particularly credulous for every BP talking point while the well was gushing, now doing the "scales have fallen from our eyes" dance.