44 oil spills found in southeast Louisiana [View All]

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44 oil spills found in southeast Louisiana
Largest is nearly 4 million gallons, most big ones are on Mississippi River

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9365607/

By Miguel Llanos
Reporter
MSNBC
Updated: 1:40 p.m. ET Sept. 17, 2005

More than 500 specialists are working to clean up 44 oil spills ranging from several hundred gallons to nearly 4 million gallons, the U.S. Coast Guard said in an assessment that goes far beyond initial reports of just two significant spills.

The report comes nearly three weeks after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, and reflects the fact that the Coast Guard and other agencies are able to only now tackle environmental problems since the search and rescue effort is winding down.

The Coast Guard estimates more than 7 million gallons of oil were spilled from industrial plants, storage depots and other facilities around southeast Louisiana.

That is about two-thirds as much oil as spilled from the Exxon Valdez tanker in 1989. But unlike the oil from the Valdez, which poured from a single source, these oil spills are scattered at sites throughout southeast Louisiana.