Oil Spill Containment Efforts Approach Hurricane Season

By Eileen Fleming

New Orleans, La. – June first marks the first day of hurricane season in the Gulf of Mexico. So far, weather has mostly been calm, but stormy conditions have kept skimmers off choppy waters for days at a time since the drilling rig exploded three weeks ago. But Coast Guard Rear Mary Landry says coastal communities are well-trained in handling hurricane conditions.

"We will be working very closely with them so that we can be positioned as well for that as we have been working with BP for this response."

Meantime, officials with Mexico's state-owned oil company are worried about its coastline if the oil isn't capped off before currents shift in August and the oil heads toward Mexico's northern Gulf Coast.
For NPR News, I'm Eileen Fleming in New Orleans.