Surprise News Bulletin: Oil Spill Cleanup Will Take Years

The oily eco-nightmare that the BP spill has become in the Gulf of Mexico isn’t going to go away for a long while. According to Coast Guard chief Thad Allen, it probably will take “years” to restore affected regions to some semblance of their pre-spill existence.  —KA

BBC:

Adm Allen told reporters it would take a couple of months to clear the oil slick from the surface of the Gulf.

But, he said: “Long-term issues of restoring environments and habitats will be years.”

He said that while BP had nearly doubled the amount of oil being funnelled off the leaking wellhead since Friday, it was now “trying to increase that production rate, close the venting valves and move to a greater capacity”.

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bbc.co.uk