Oil-Cleanup Estimates Draw New Fire

By SIOBHAN HUGHES And ROBERT LEE HOTZ
WSJ

The Obama administration's conclusion that much of the oil released into the Gulf of Mexico from the Deepwater Horizon spill has disappeared is coming under additional fire from scientists.

Earlier this month, a team led by the Interior Department and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration said that of 4.9 million barrels released from the out-of-control well, roughly 75% had been cleaned up or had broken down. Most of the rest was a light sheen at or near the surface or had washed ashore, the government researchers said.

The findings suggested the long-term impact of the spill on the coastline and fisheries might not be as bad as once feared.

But Ian MacDonald, an oceanographer at Florida State University, is expected to tell a U.S. House Energy and Commerce subcommittee Thursday that the administration findings were misleading and that the government has made rosy forecasts about the pace at which dispersed oil will biodegrade. Only 10% of oil discharged into the ocean was "actually removed from the ocean," according to his prepared testimony. Mr. MacDonald uses satellite imagery to measure oil slicks.

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