June 15, 2010

What happens to the oil that is cleaned up?


Marlin Ladner, a supervisor in Harrison County, Miss., spoke angrily about the prospect of debris from the spill being deposited in the local Pecan Grove landfill in his district.
His worry, he said, is that toxic material could leach into local aquifers from which more than 300 homes draw water.
"BP oil is responsible for polluting our sand beaches and our estuaries," Mr. Ladner said.
Now, he added, "They pick it up, put it on trucks, take it four or five miles north and dump it on us again."
About 35,000 bags — or 250 tons — of oily trash have been carted away from this beach, said Lt. Patrick Hanley of the Coast Guard, who is stationed at Port Fourchon. And as of Monday, more than 175,000 gallons of liquid waste — a combination of oil and water — had been sent to landfills, as had 11,276 cubic yards of solid waste, said Petty Officer Gail Dale, also of the Coast Guard, who works with at the command center in Houma.

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