By Eileen Fleming
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wwno/local-wwno-965351.mp3
New Orleans, La. – Most of the research will be conducted in the five Gulf states affected by the oil spill. Projects will focus on the effects of the spill on the environment and public health. Twenty academics are on the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative board. They'll oversee the studies on topics that will also include cleanup technologies. The board chairman says it's taken longer than expected to write the guidelines. Officials are studying ways to plug funding gaps that could occur with research that's now under way. Grant winners won't be announced until the end of August.
For WWNO, I'm Eileen Fleming.