Gulf winds turn against BP as oil containment plan snarls
By Edward Klump, Mark Chediak and Aaron Kuriloff – May 10, 2010 Weather forecasts in the Gulf of Mexico indicate shifting winds will push an oil slick toward Louisiana in the next few days after the failure of BP Plc’s latest attempt to stem the gushing oil leak offshore. “The winds may play a huge role,” said Kristina Pydynowski, a senior meteorologist with AccuWeather.com in State College, Pennsylvania. “The big threat is that the potential exists for the oil slick to be pushed closer, if not onto, some of the Louisiana coastline.” Tarballs as big as golf balls were found at the weekend on Dauphin Island, Alabama, and they are being analyzed for the origin of the oil, B.V. Castillo, a BP government and public affairs representative, said in a conference call. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Saturday stopped public access to Louisiana’s Chandeleur and Freemason islands, where oil from the spill first reached shore. … Louisiana health and wildlife agencies closed more areas to recreational and commercial fishing yesterday for fear of oil contamination. The closures shut down large areas of the state’s fisheries, particularly shrimp and crab harvesting, along with tens of thousands of acres of oyster reef and dozens of recreational fishing outposts, Schexnayder said. “This is right at the peak of shrimp season and crab season,” Schexnayder said. “That’s the lifeblood of these small communities.” … “It’s got everyone really nervous,” Billy Nungesser, president of Plaquemines Parish in Louisiana, said in an interview about the failure to contain the spill. “If oil gets into the marshes, we are finished. Everything breeds in there, the whole food chain.” …
