No Hair Boom for Oil Spill Response
The Unified Area Command for the Deepwater Horizon/BP Response announced it will not use hair boom in its response efforts. While this suggestion was submitted to BP as an alternative method for containing and recovering the oil spill, it was not deemed feasible after a technical evaluation. In a February 2010 side-by-side field test conducted during an oil spill in Texas, commercial sorbent boom absorbed more oil and much less water than hair boom, making it the better operational choice. “Our priority when cleaning up an oil spill is to find the most efficient and expedient way to remove the oil from the affected area while causing no additional damage.
Deepwater Horizon Incident, USCG Update
The National Response Team (NRT), an organization of 16 federal departments and agencies responsible for coordinating emergency preparedness and response to oil and hazardous substance pollution incidents was quickly activated and a coordinated group of federal partners-including the United States Coast Guard, Departments of Homeland Security, Commerce, Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency-immediately began directing and overseeing BP's response. Coastal protection and booming operations under the direction of the Unified Command Mobile are ongoing, actively deploying as rapidly as possible as part of the strategic plan across Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida panhandle, Unified Command Mobile said.