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June 4, 2010

Gov’t Could Be Underestimating Spill Size
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A newly released report, meanwhile, shows the federal government could
still be drastically underestimating the size of the spill. Last week
the government estimated the well is spewing between 12,000 to 19,000
barrels of oil a day. But according to the Huffington Post, the
Department of Interior’s "Flow Rate Technical Group" now says those
figures represent the lower range of "lower bounds" using conservative
estimates. 
Meanwhile, on Thursday, the Center for Public Integrity released a
report showing the Coast Guard knew within twenty-four hours of the
April explosion that the rig’s blowout preventer had failed and that the
spill could have reached as high as 8,000 barrels a day, a larger figure
than officials disclosed at the time.



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