Spill numbers ‘hard to get’

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration’s coordinator for the Gulf Coast oil spill said yesterday that it would be at least July before BP had the tankers in place to capture the latest estimates for crude flowing from the blown well.
Even if undersea efforts to direct the oil to the surface succeeded, it would take weeks to get the proper equipment in place to hold it, Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen said.
Allen gave reporters the update in Washington, a day after a government task force said the blown-out well might have been spewing as much as 2.1 million gallons of oil per day – or twice as much as the government’s previous worst-case estimate.
He acknowledged that reliable numbers on the severity of the crisis were hard to get. (AP)