exactly who is to blame and what the total impact will be on the environment. meantime today the first globs of oil are washing ashore in alabama but most of the slick is still offshore and more oil is flowing out of the sunken well. nbc's thanh truong is on dauphin island in alabama with more. good afternoon. >> reporter: what you're seeing behind me is a large contingent of the national guard here trying to lay down these large containment boxes. in the event that any more oil sheen or any of the oil slick moves towards here these boxes will be in place and there will be chemicals placed in these green boxes. in the event that it comes here. those chemicals would help absorb any of the oil that comes onshore. joining me now is lieutenant barnhill who has been out here. describe what it's been like just understanding that there's this massive oil spill out there and what you all are doing here. >> well, we're in the alabama national guard and just trying to make sure we do what we can to help protect the environment and the ecosystem and just the