540,000 pounds of dispersants flown to New Orleans to fight oil spill
May 5th, 2010 - 4:06 am ICT by BNO NewsBUFFALO, NEW YORK (BNO NEWS) – National Air Cargo (NAG) announced Tuesday that it rushed the delivery of over 540,000 pounds of COREXIT oil spill dispersants to Louisiana.
The dispersants are sprayed onto the oil slick to reduce the cohesiveness of the oil, allowing it to disperse into the water column as fine droplets. The oil is then readily biodegraded by microorganisms in the sea, but over time, the oil can became too sticky or emulsified to be readily dispersed, making an expedited delivery critical to clean up efforts.
“The delivery of the oil spill dispersants is extremely time critical due to the heavy environmental cost of having it arrive later – the product itself has a ‘window of opportunity’ where it is most effective,” Christopher Alf, who founded National Air Cargo in 1991, said.
Since Saturday, six planes have picked up 90,000 pounds of dispersant each from Anchorage International Airport and delivered it directly to New Orleans International airport. After the 1989 oil spill, the National Research Council concluded that the overall impact of spilled oil is likely to be reduced by dispersive actions.
“We hope our quick response will lessen the effects of the oil spill on the ecosystem and the livelihoods of the people of Louisiana,” Alf added.
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