NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The Coast Guard planned to set fire to oil
leaking from the site of an exploded drilling rig in the Gulf of
Mexico on Wednesday, a last-ditch effort to get rid of it before it
reaches environmentally sensitive marshlands on the Lousiana coast.
Fire-resistant containment booms will be used to corral some of
the thickest oil on the surface, which will then be ignited, said
Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Prentice Danner.
It was unclear how large an area would be set aflame, what would
used to do it and how far from shore the first fire would burn. The
slick was about 20 miles east of the the mouth of the Mississippi
River.
About 42,000 gallons of oil a day are leaking into the Gulf from
the blown-out well where the Deepwater Horizon exploded and sank
last week. Eleven workers are missing and presumed dead. The cause
of the explosion has not been determined.
A graphic posted by authorities fighting the slick shows it
covering an area about 100 miles long and 45 miles across at its
widest point. It could reach land within three days, depending on
the weather.
State Widlife and Fisheries Secretary Robert Barham told a
legislative committee Wednesday morning that National Oceanographic
and Atmospheric Administration projections show a "high
probability" oil could reach the Pass a Loutre wildlife management
area Friday night, Breton Sound on Saturday and the Chandeleur
Islands on Sunday.
The decision to burn some of the oil comes as the Coast Guard
and industry clean-up crews run out of other options to get rid of
it.
Crews operating submersible robots have been trying without
success to activate a shutoff device that would halt the flow of
oil on the seabottom 5,000 feet below.
Rig operator BP Plc. says work will begin as early as Thursday
to drill a relief well to relieve pressure at the blow-out site,
but that could take months.
Another option is a dome-like device to cover oil rising to the
surface and pump it to container vessels, but that will take two
weeks to put in place, BP said.
Winds and currents in the Gulf have helped crews in recent days
as they try to contain the leak. The immediate threat to sandy
beaches in coastal Alamaba and Mississippi has lessened. But the
spill has moved steadily toward the mouth of the Mississippi River,
home to hundreds of species of wildlife and near some rich oyster
grounds.
The cost of disaster continues to rise and could easily top $1
billion.
Industry officials say replacting the Deepwater Horizon, owned
by Transocean Ltd. and operated by BP, would cost up to $700
million. BP has said its costs for containing the spill are running
at $6 million a day. The company said it will spend $100 million to
drill the relief well. The Coast Guard has not yet reported its
expenses.

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