Update: Gulf oil spill response by the numbers (6/28)
As of late last week, these were the latest statistics released by the Feds:
- The administration has authorized the deployment of 17,500 National Guard troops from Gulf Coast states to respond to this crisis; currently, 1,640 are active.
- Approximately 37,000 personnel are currently responding to protect the shoreline and wildlife and cleanup vital coastlines.
- More than 6,200 vessels are currently responding on site, including skimmers, tugs, barges, and recovery vessels to assist in containment and cleanup efforts—in addition to dozens of aircraft, remotely operated vehicles, and multiple mobile offshore drilling units.
- Approximately 2.6 million feet of containment boom and 4.24 million feet of sorbent boom have been deployed to contain the spill—and approximately 850,000 feet of containment boom and 2.26 million feet of sorbent boom are available.
- Approximately 25.6 million gallons of an oil-water mix have been recovered.
- Approximately 1.48 million gallons of total dispersant have been applied—977,000 on the surface and 502,000 subsea. More than 422,000 gallons are available.
- 275 controlled burns have been conducted, efficiently removing a total of more than 10 million gallons of oil from the open water in an effort to protect shoreline and wildlife. Because calculations on the volume of oil burned can take more than 48 hours, the reported total volume may not reflect the most recent controlled burns.
- 17 staging areas are in place to protect sensitive shorelines.
- Approximately 179 miles of Gulf Coast shoreline is currently oiled—approximately 34 miles in Louisiana, 42 miles in Mississippi, 42 miles in Alabama, and 61 miles in Florida. These numbers reflect a daily snapshot of shoreline currently experiencing impacts from oil so that planning and field operations can more quickly respond to new impacts; they do not include cumulative impacts to date, or shoreline that has already been cleared.
- Approximately 78,600 square miles of Gulf of Mexico federal waters remain closed to fishing in order to balance economic and public health concerns. More than 67 percent remains open. Details can be found at sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/
- To date, the administration has leveraged assets and skills from numerous foreign countries and international organizations as part of this historic, all-hands-on-deck response, including Canada, Germany, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization and the European Union's Monitoring and Information Centre.
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