US spill 'world's worst oil accident’

Over 200 million gallons of oil have gushed into
the Gulf of Mexico since the Deepwater Horizon
rig exploded on April 20, killing 11 people.



Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137249§ionid=3510203


The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is by far the world's biggest accidental release of crude into marine waters, new US data attained by federal scientists says.

According to the most precise estimates yet by a joint response command including BP and the US government, 4.9 million barrels of oil have leaked from a ruptured BP well since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20, killing 11 people.

That amount eclipses the estimated 3.3 million barrels spilled into the Bay of Campeche by the Mexican rig Ixtoc I in 1979. That incident was previously thought to be the world's largest accidental release.

The Monday statement adds that cleanup teams have so far only managed to contain 800,000 barrels of crude.

"We've never had a spill of this magnitude in the deep ocean," said Ian MacDonald, a professor of oceanography at Florida State University. "... I think we'll be hearing the echoes of this, ecologically, for the rest of my life."

The team believes that the current estimates are accurate to within a 10 percent error. However, the government is continuing to study the data and may refine the estimate.

The amount of oil said to be gushing from the well has been a matter of dispute from the earliest days of the spill.

The latest data comes as BP plans to inject mud and cement into the ruptured well to permanently seal it. The procedure is expected to take five to seven days.

The well has been temporarily sealed for two weeks now.

The oil spill has so far caused huge environmental damage and economic losses in four US Gulf states.