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Your support makes all the difference.Below are the most recent figures on the Gulf of Mexico oil clean-up, provided by the US Joint Information Center and BP as they address the worst environmental disaster in US history.
COASTLINE POLLUTED:
Some 553 miles of Gulf shoreline has been contaminated by oil: 313 miles in Louisiana, 99 miles in Mississippi, 66 miles in Alabama, and 75 miles in Florida.
WATERS RESTRICTED:
Some 81,181 square miles of Gulf of Mexico federal waters - about one-third of the total - have been closed to fishing.
COSTS:
BP said it has so far spent some 3.5 billion dollars (2.78 billion euros) on the spill response, including containment, relief well drilling, grants to Gulf states, Gulf clean-up and compensation claim payouts.
BOATS/SHIPS:
More than 6,850 vessels are on site, including skimmers, tugs, barges, and recovery vessels to assist in containment and cleanup efforts.
Currently 46 oil skimmers are operating in the vicinity of the well, in addition to more than 580 skimmers deployed to protect Gulf coastline.
AIRCRAFT:
117 aircraft are in use, helping to track moving oil and assist ships below.
CONTROLLED BURNS:
More than 330 controlled burns have been carried out to remove oil from the ocean surface.
NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS:
The US administration has authorized the deployment of 17,500 National Guard troops from Gulf Coast states to respond to this crisis, 1,525 of whom are active.
WORKERS:
More than 46,000 personnel are currently responding to protect and clean up the Gulf shoreline and wildlife.
BOOM:
More than 3.12 million feet of containment boom and 6.16 million feet of sorbent boom have been deployed to contain the spill. Some 816,000 feet of containment boom and 2.32 million feet of sorbent boom remain ready for use.
OIL RECOVERED:
More than 31 million gallons of oil-water mix have been recovered.
OIL BURNED:
Nearly 10.34 million gallons have been burned off.
DISPERSANT:
Some 1.79 million gallons of dispersant have been applied in Gulf, both on the surface and underwater, with another 454,000 gallons ready for use.
STAGING AREAS:
Officials are conducting clean-up operations from 17 separate staging areas.
FOREIGN AID:
Various foreign governments and international agencies have lent their assistance in the cleanup, including Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Qatar, Russia, Spain, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, the United Nations' International Maritime Organization, the European Union's Monitoring and Information Center, and the European Maritime Safety Agency.
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