by Agence France-Presse. NEW ORLEANS — Hopes for an end to the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster rose Wednesday as BP prepared to permanently seal its runaway well with cement and U.S. officials said that three-quarters of the toxic crude had been eliminated. The first part of BP’s long-awaited static kill was conducted overnight as heavy drilling fluid was rammed into the busted Macondo well for eight hours, forcing the oil back down into the reservoir miles beneath the seabed. “The MC252 well appears to have reached a static condition — a significant milestone,” BP said. “The well pressure is now being controlled by the hydrostatic pressure of the drilling mud, the desired outcome of the static kill procedure.” Now officials must decide whether to permanently seal the reservoir with cement right away or wait until a relief well is finished mid-August; this will depend on whether there are any leaks in the steel casing of the well. The best-case scenario could see the well put permanently out of action in days, although the “bottom kill” will still be performed through a relief well by the end of month to cement in the outer well bore and make sure of success. The breakthrough came 106 days after a devastating explosion aboard the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig on April 20 killed 11 workers and unleashed a torrent of oil into the Gulf. The 4.9 million barrel spill — by far the biggest on record — threatened the fish and wildlife-rich Gulf Coast with environmental ruin and plunged residents of coastal communities into months of anguish over their livelihoods and the region’s future. But there was more good news for Gulf residents on Wednesday as U.S. officials announced that about three-quarters of the oil spilled from the well has already evaporated, dispersed, or been burned off or captured. “The scientists are telling us about 25 percent was not captured or evaporated or taken care of by Mother Nature,” Carol Browner, President Obama’s top energy adviser, told ABC television. “This is an initial assessment by our scientists in the government and outside the government. We think it’s important to make this available to the public. That’s what we’ll be doing today.” Browner said that the report to be released later Wednesday was “encouraging,” but that more clean-up will be needed. “Mother Nature will continue to break it down,” she said. “But some of it may come onshore, as weathered tar balls. And those will be cleaned up. They can be cleaned up. And we will make sure they are cleaned up.” The extent of the spill was confirmed when U.S. government experts on Monday announced that the oil had been pouring out at a rate of 62,000 barrels a day — more than 12 times faster than BP originally admitted. This was higher than any previous official estimate, and meant 4.9 million barrels of crude — more than 205 million gallons — spewed into the Gulf in the 87 days it took to cap it, making it the biggest-ever accidental marine spill. If BP is found guilty of negligence, the flow rate means it could face up to $17.6 billion in fines. The firm has also set up a $20 billion fund to pay claims from individuals and businesses hit by the disaster. The full economic and environmental cost will not be clear for some time, but a hint of what is to come appeared in a report by researchers at the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University. Of 1,200 coastal Gulf coast residents the researchers surveyed last month, 40 percent said they had been directly exposed to the spill, a third said it had affected their children, and 20 percent said it had hit their wallets. Parents reported that their children had developed mental, behavioral, or physical problems — everything from respiratory problems and rashes to feelings of sadness or nervousness, difficulty socializing with other children, or trouble getting to sleep. One in five residents told the Columbia researchers that their household income had fallen, with poor residents — those who earned less than $25,000 a year — feeling the pinch more than the better-off. Related Links: How to make Smart Growth affordable Standing in the way of justice for the BP calamity Colorado gov. candidate: Biking and transit are part of U.N. plot
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Hope for Gulf as BP plugs well
