Substance in Gulf of Mexico likely sediment, not oil

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Reuters

Substance in Gulf of Mexico likely sediment, not oil
By Colleen Jenkins

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla | Mon Mar 21, 2011 12:00am EDT

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla (Reuters) - A reported "sheen" in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana is likely the result of large amounts of sediment, not spilled oil, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Sunday.

The Coast Guard collected and tested samples of a dark substance after receiving varying reports on Saturday of possible pollution floating on and beneath the water's surface. The largest sighting described the substance as stretching 100 miles into the Gulf, south of Grand Isle, Louisiana.

An analysis found only trace amounts of petroleum hydrocarbons, oil and grease -- all at levels well within the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality's clean water standard.

Sediment carried down the Mississippi River and possibly agitated by dredging is believed to have caused the dark substance, according to a Coast Guard news release.



Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/21/us-oil-sheen-idUSTRE72J31V20110321?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews

[Night Crawler]

1. Barbara Streisand! N/T

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. Good, I don't think we can handle another one

[fasttense]

3. Yeah, right.

Nothing to see here, move along. It may look like oil, act like oil and taste like oil but it's not oil.

[trof]

4. Bingo.

[freshwest]

14. My folks land had natural oil seepage at the riverfront. But this ain't that.

[Autumn]

5. Sediment floats?

Interesting.

[Lucinda]

7. x2

My thoughts exactly.

[Autumn]

8. I've seen it make water cloudy but not

lay on top with a sheen.

[Cetacea]

12. x3

"Huh?"

[eowyn_of_rohan]

6. likely, schmikely n/t

[lonestarnot]

9. And no radiation is coming out of Japan either.

:puke:

[slackmaster]

10. It shouldn't require rocket surgery to tell the difference between oil and sediment

:crazy:

[Greybnk48]

11. Why did the fisherman report a very strong odor

of petroleum? Weird.

[RedCloud]

16. Maybe another fisherman was upwind?

[Cetacea]

13. It took the CG two days to come to that conclusion...

[bvar22]

15. Big Brother says:

Don't Worry.
Be Happy.
Go Shopping.
!CONSUME!

Our CorpoGovernment CARES about YOU!
.
.
.
Really.
.
.
.
Trust me.

[Desertrose]

17. Oooh...pretty shiny floating sediment!

Seriously?

[defendandprotect]

18. Think the Coast Guard needs to stop taking BP $$$$$ ----