Mississippi Gov. Hailey Barbour has claimed that Mississippi coastal waters are clear, the beaches clean and that the seafood caught in the Gulf is safe to eat.
Yet, soil samples taken along the beach at Long Beach, Mississippi, on October 21, 2010, confirmed the presence of crude oil. One sand sample, from location 3012.45N, 8930.41W, contained 9.35 parts per million (ppm) of Oil Range Organic Petroleum Hydrocarbons (ORO), confirming the presence of crude oil. This sample also contained ethanol, which is a chemical in BP's dispersants.
Another sand sample taken from the same area contained 160 ppm ORO.
Samples with no oil or chemicals should test at 0 ppm.
Foamy substance at Long Beach, Mississippi that contains oil and ethylene glycol. (Photo: Erika Blumenfeld)
A third sample from the area, containing both sand and a brownish foam on the water that local residents and fishermen believe is the result of dispersed oil, contained 14.68 ppm ORO, confirming the presence of crude oil. This sample also contained ethylene glycol, a chemical in the dispersants.
The US Coast Guard, federal government and BP claim that no dispersants have been used since mid-July.
Black granular material at Long Beach, Mississippi that tested positive for crude oil. (Photo: Erika Blumenfeld)
Another sample from the area taken from sand covered in what local residents described as "coffee grounds" contained 8.65 ppm ORO, confirming the presence of crude oil.
Don't miss a beat - get Truthout Daily Email Updates. Click here to sign up for free.
A small inlet on the beach was filled with brown foam and oil sheen. A sample of sand covered with the foamy sheen contained 175 ppm ORO.
Foamy substance along shoreline at Long Beach, Mississippi that tested positive for crude oil. (Photo: Erika Blumenfeld)
On January 7, federal and Louisiana officials took a boat tour of an area in southern Louisiana that remains fouled with oil from the BP disaster. They found areas in Barataria Bay where oil continued to eat away at the fragile marshland, where no protective boom nor cleanup workers could be found. Affected areas were up to 100 feet wide in some sections.
"This is the biggest cover-up in the history of America," Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser told reporters.
Nungesser was angered by claims by the Coast Guard and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) officials he was with, who said a plan was being developed to clean the area.
"It's like you're in bed with BP," Nungesser told the officials. "Don't tell me I got a voice in the way you put together that crappy document," Nungesser said as WDSU TV filmed the altercation. "It ain't worth the paper it's printed on. That is bullshit." Nungesser then told one of the federal officials, "You cover up for BP."
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
