BP asks for permission for "deep-cleaning" of oil after Hurricane Isaac hits Louisiana coasts
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E-mail Xinhua, September 12, 2012
BP asks for permission for "deep-cleaning" of oil after Hurricane Isaac hits Louisiana coasts
HOUSTON, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- British oil giant BP said Tuesday it has asked the U.S. federal and local authorities for permission to do the "deep-cleaning" of buried oil exposed on Louisiana beaches by Hurricane Isaac's waves.
BP Gulf Coast Restoration Organization President Mike Utsler said Tuesday that BP has asked permission from the U.S. Coast Guard and state and local officials to "deep clean" beaches on Grand Isle, Grand Terre Island, Fourchon Beach and Elmer's Island to remove oil that was uncovered during Hurricane Isaac, according to news website nola.com.
The deep cleaning process would wash sand deeper along the beach than had occurred in earlier removal efforts along those beaches. The process was used extensively along "amenity" beaches used by tourists in Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida panhandle, the report said.
The plan would be approved by the Deepwater Horizon Incident Management Team led by the U.S. Coast Guard, Utsler said.
Such a plan was rejected in the immediate aftermath of the spill as too dangerous to the environment along those beaches, as the process kills microorganisms and small animals that live in the sand, according to the report.
Utsler said initial indications are that there has been no additional oiling of inland wetlands in Louisiana.
He also said that the tar balls and tar mats found in the aftermath of Isaac was in areas where oil was known to have been onshore, and no new areas have been oiled.
Isaac made a landfall in Louisiana on Aug. 28, dumping heavy rain and pushing in storm surge that led to widespread flooding.
Tests run by researchers at Louisiana State University later confirmed that oil found on some Lousiana beaches matched the biological fingerprint of oil that spewed from BP's Macondo well.
The 2010 blowout of BP's Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico triggered an explosion that killed 11 rig workers and unleashed the worst oil spill in the U.S. history. Enditem
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