3/4 of BP Spill Oil Gone from Gulf

According to U.S. Scientists on Wednesday, 3/4 of the oil from the BP oil spill has gone from the Gulf of Mexico. Only 26 percent of the oil that leaked has been left in the form of tarballs, sheen, or is buried in sediment or has been washed ashore.


According to a report, "It is estimated that burning, skimming and direct recovery from the wellhead removed one quarter (25 percent) of the oil released from the wellhead."

Another 25 percent naturally evaporated or dissolved and 24 percent was dispersed, either naturally or "as the result of operations," into small droplets, the report also quoted.


The rest of the estimated 4.9 million barrels of crude spilled into the Gulf is either on or just beneath the water's surface as "light sheen or weathered tarballs," has washed ashore where it may have been collected, or is buried in sand and sediments at the sea bottom.


The report also mentions that 33 percent of the oil has been dealt with by the Unified Command, which includes government and private efforts.


Natural processes on the other hand broke down the rest of the 74 percent that has been removed from the Gulf.


Acording to Carol Browner, energy and climate change adviser to President Barack, "The good news is that the vast majority of the oil appears to be gone." The report was released just before National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency officials were to testify at a U.S. Senate hearing about the use of dispersant chemicals for the purpose dispersing the oil.