Ben Raines at the Mobile Press-Register is reporting on a confidential government report which reveals new concerns that BP’s drilling disaster could become “an unchecked gusher shooting millions of gallons of oil per day into the Gulf.” According to the report, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials are afraid that additional new leaks from the underground riser pipe are a sign that the pipe is eroding from within and the Coast Guard is now “preparing for the worst case scenario.” This worst case scenario could involve upwards of 2.1 million gallons of oil a day. The largest oil spill in US waters, Exxon-Valdez, released around 11 million gallons of oil. Some independent analysts are suggesting that BP’s oil drilling disaster has already released 6 million gallons of crude into the waters of the Gulf. Any further increase could spell even more significant consequences for the health of the Gulf of Mexico and all of us who call this region home. Read the article in the Press-Register here.
