Oil That Seeped from Sunken Transocean Rig Reaches Louisiana Coast

Just as environmentalists and safety advocates feared, oil from the Gulf of Mexico rig explosion has hit the Louisiana Coast.  According to news reports, the first wave of oil reached Louisiana’s fragile wetlands on Friday, April 30, 2010.  The rest of the oil spill continues to drift toward land.

The Transocean rig, Deepwater Horizon, exploded on the evening of Tuesday, April 20, 2010, causing workers to rush to safety and leaving eleven people missing.  On April 22, the rig sunk into the Gulf of Mexico and started leaking oil.  There have been different estimates as to how much oil has been leaking daily.  One newspaper reported that 5,000 barrels of oil were seeping into the water each day.

Over 2,000 people attempted to contain the massive oil leak caused from the sunken Transocean rig.  U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Sally Brice-O’Hara told “Good Morning America” that the poor weather conditions hampered the cleanup efforts.  Specifically, cleanup methods that included skimming the oil from the surface or lighting it on fire could not be implemented, because of the 23 mph wind, high tides and rising seas.

The oil eventually reached the coastal wetlands of South Pass, not far from the mouth of the Mississippi.  However, the oil isn’t near inhabited inland areas.