DIRTY BIRDS Oil spill soaks pelican refuge

[merh]

Posted on Thu, Jun. 16, 2005
DIRTY BIRDS
Oil spill soaks pelican refuge



By KAREN NELSON
[e-mail]

A crude oil spill due south of Gulfport has soaked a national wildlife refuge, killing pelicans where they nested and bringing to the forefront the issue of drilling near national parks along the Mississippi Coast.

An oil rig crew with Amerada Hess evacuated a rig near the Breton National Wildlife Refuge, directly south of the Chandeleur Islands, over the weekend for Tropical Storm Arlene. They returned on Sunday to find that 550 gallons of light crude oil had spilled from the rig, according to the Coast Guard, which is overseeing the investigation and cleanup.

Bird rescue crews from Delaware, Houston, California and Chevron's Pascagoula Refinery were either in Louisiana on Wednesday or en route to help handle the aftermath.

By Wednesday night, 597 oil-soaked birds had been taken to Venice, La., 124 of which were dead or died on the mainland. Hundreds are estimated to be dead on the island and rescuers expect to bring in another 500 to 600 contaminated birds.

(snip)
http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/11905440.htm

GOVERNOR - WE DON'T WANT NO STINKING NATURAL GAS RIGS IN THE MISSISSIPPI SOUND :mad:


:cry: :cry: