“We don’t believe anything coming out of BP’s mouth,” say Gulf residents

As the first fingers of crude oil sheen lapped the Louisiana delta shores Thursday night, Gulf Coast residents were frightened and angry.

Frightened at the potential destruction of their livelihood as an even bigger environmental disaster than the Exxon Valdez spill looms large.

Angry at the federal government and BP.

“We’re really disgusted. We don’t believe anything coming out of BP’s mouth,” said Byron Marinovitch, 47. He shares the anger of many other Gulf Coast residents at what they believe to be the slow and ineffective response to controlling the 5,000 barrels of oil leaking every day in the aftermath of the Transocean Deepwater Horizon platform explosion and sinking.

If it takes three months to drill an intervention well, as some experts are forecasting, that would nearly double the 11 million gallons spilled from the Exxon Valdez in 1989.

11 workers died in the Deepwater Horizon explosion April 20.

Source: Associated Press