Stormy Weather Hits the Gulf

June 30, 2010
Stormy Weather Hits the Gulf
Strong winds from Hurricane Alex slow cleanup efforts for the oil spill
BY JARED T. MILLER

Cleaning up the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a full-time job—but not this week. Hurricane Alex, currently a Category 1 hurricane headed towards the Texas-Mexico coast, has put a halt to cleanup efforts for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Although Alex's projected path is west of the affected areas, winds from the edge of the storm are already creating six-foot waves and winds over 25 miles per hour. The hurricane is expected to make landfall on Wednesday night.
Buildup on the Bayou
Ships near the site of the original rig explosion are continuing skimming work, unaffected by the weather. But many crews responsible for clearing oil from the beaches and waters of the Gulf of Mexico have been ordered to put their efforts on hold until the hurricane passes. In Louisiana, oil has washed up on beaches that had been free of the toxic substance, erasing progress that has been made in the Gulf so far.
"The sad thing is that it's been about three weeks since we had any big oil come in here," said marine science technician Michael Malone, about Grand Isle and Elmer's Island, Louisiana. Tar balls the size of apples have hit the beaches this week. Because of the weather, officials have had to move barges that were blocking the oil from reaching important wetland areas. Workers have also had to reposition floating containment boom.
Winds from the storm haven't helped the beach cleanup crews, either. Workers are fighting gusts that blow sand into their eyes and mouths as they make their way across the coastline. Humidity, higher than usual because of the weather, is causing the oil-soaked sand to stick to the workers' skin. On Monday, officials from New Orleans reported oil entering nearby Barataria Bay, an area that diverse wildlife species call home.
Help from Alex?
Others are more hopeful about the stormy weather. Scientists have suggested that choppy waves from the storm will break the oil apart and make it evaporate faster. "It's good news because there is less on the surface," Coast Guard Commander Joe Higgens said. "It's surface oil that washes up on the beaches." The waves, combined with chemicals sprayed by the Coast Guard, have broken up a 6-by-30-mile oil patch into smaller pieces, Higgens said.
In the meantime, the U.S. has accepted international assistance. Help is on the way from Mexico, Norway, Holland and Japan in the form of skimmer boats. Canada is providing more containment boom to stop the oil from hitting shorelines, and Croatia has offered technical advice.

990702 Stormy weather hits the Gulf-Michael
It is a very big work to clean up oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. There were a lot of oils split out from the pipes because the pipes were broken. There is a hurricane going to strike the Texas-Mexico coast. The winds from the edge of the storm, Hurricane Alex, are already creating six-foot waves and winds over 25 miles per hour. So it will be a hard work to clean up the oils in the ocean. Now, most of the crews who clean the oil from the beaches and waters of the Gulf of Mexico have been ordered to put their efforts on hold until the hurricane passes. The workers are waiting for the hurricane to pass and start to clean up the oil until the weather gets better. Some scientist said that the choppy waves from the storm will break the oil apart and make it evaporate faster. When the oil breaks apart it will also help the workers easier to clean up the oil because the oil that floats on the ocean is really a big problem for the American government and the Mexico government. Maybe some days later the can clean up all the oil to make the environment better.