Environment: Oil crisis update

The Environmental Protection Agency told BP late Wedneday that the company has 24 hours to pick a less toxic form of chemical dispersants to break up its oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, according to government sources familiar with the decision. (Source: Washington Post, 05/20/10) A portion of the slick has entered the loop current that will take it around the tip of Florida and up the east coast. The slick has stayed away from shorelines so far, save for parts of Louisiana. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 05/20/10) In a bid to stem the flow, officials from BP plan to shoot drilling mud into the Deepwater Horizon well, perhaps by Sunday. (Source: Sun Herald, 05/19/10) An explosion April 20 at the Deepwater Horizon rig killed 11 workers and left an uncapped well. Several methods to stem the flow have failed, but a siphon pipe is capturing some of the oil. About 19 percent of Gulf is now closed to fishing. Multiple organizations at Stennis Space Center, Miss. are responding to the crisis.