NOAA: Can't Yet Confirm Underwater Oil Plumes From US Gulf Leak
June 02 2010 - 6:37PM
Dow Jones News
The U.S. government said it didn't have enough scientific
evidence to confirm oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill in the
U.S. Gulf of Mexico is spreading in deep, underwater plumes.
Some scientists have warned that giant plumes of oil from the
mile-deep leak drifting deep in the Gulf, combined with the
chemical dispersants injected at the source of the leak, could be
creating a veritable "dead zone" of oxygen depleted water unfit for
marine life. Oil has been gushering into the Gulf over the last six
weeks since Transocean Ltd's (RIG) Deepwater Horizon rig, which was
leased by BP PLC (BP, BP.LN), exploded and sank two days later.
"There have been a number of things that look suspicious, but we
have yet to see confirmed lab results that give us definitive
information," said Jane Lubchenco, administrator of the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in a conference call. "It's
quite possible that there is oil beneath the surface, but we need
to have more definitive information."
The Associated Press reported that BP Chief Executive Tony
Hayward disputed claims of large oil plumes suspended underwater,
saying Sunday a company sampling showed "no evidence" that oil was
suspended in large masses below the surface.
Lubchenco said NOAA research vessel Thomas Jefferson was sailing
Wednesday to conduct a 10-day mission in the vicinity of the spill.
Federal scientists will take water samples and use advanced methods
for detecting submerged oil.
Lubchenco also said NOAA is expecting to reopen some of the
closed fishery areas after researchers confirm that fish and other
marine life aren't contaminated.
-By Isabel Ordonez, Dow Jones Newswires; 713-547-9207;
isabel.ordonez@dowjones.com
(AFP contributed to this article.)
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