gallons into the gulf. here s why some say that s bad. listen. we know that the oil, the dispersant are both toxic. put them together, they re more toxic on things that are really critical to the marine biology in the gulf of mexico. now, incident commander thad allen says that it s approved on a case-by-case basis so his field commanders actually have the authority to decide whether or not to ramp up the use of chemical dispersants or allow that oil to make shoreline impact. apparently, they decided to use more oftentimes than not those chemical dispersants. what s going on now at the spill site? they are ramping up the equipment. we have new video that we just got. we flew with the coast guard overnight and early this morning and you can see the drilling ship that will pump that heavy drilling mud into the well bore to stop this oil from leaking, they are getting ready to do
for the best while prepared for the worse. that s the way to prepare for the potential impact on the state s coast. reporter: as this barrier is loaded up on parts of the louisiana shoreline, still, one sobering fact remains, not every inch can be protected. there s simply not enough boom to cover the number of miles that state of louisiana has. what we re doing, is trying to cover the specific areas to help minimize the impact if there is any kind of shoreline impact. now, we have been told that the united states military has been placed on standby in case there are any requests from the state of louisiana. of course, this new information that came out last night. again, just mind-boggling. we re talking about three different leaks jetting out, 5,000 barrels per day. that is amazing. again to translate that equates to 210,000 gallons into the gulf every day. just mind-boggling.
protect the gulf coast. that s the best way to approach. this is loaded up to be spread along the louisiana shoreline. still, one sobering fact remains. not every inch can be protected. there is simply not enough boom to cover the coast line that southern louisiana has. we are trying to cover specific areas, key areas that will help minimize the overall impact if there is any kind of shoreline impact of the oil today. reporter: certainly, a tremendous mess. as i mentioned, they will use every weapon to try to hold back this. it is a tremendous mess. continues to come out. we are talking about three leaks. hard to believe, an estimate, a guesstimate, 5,000 barrels per day coming out. about 5,000 feet down and spreading around the gulf. a tremendous mess. as rob has been saying all
there a possibility of that no matter what happens. there s always a possibility of damage. unified command and spill responders are trying to optimize all the tools available to them to minimize the damages. it s conceivable you could have shoreline impact. but if the responders get out quickly and get that removed, they can go to great lengths to minimize the effects. so certainly you want to do pull off a successful response but you have to be prepared to deal with some of the impact. shepard: all right. great concern for the oyster beds and shrimping areas devastated by hurricane katrina and now back up and running and supply many millions of dollars in economic impact on the area. just for every day folks, we hope this goes well. an enormous task ahead. thank you very much. my pleasure. it s not considered the top
stop the leaks but that relief well line, pipeline, is 60 to 90 days away from being operational. if it doesn t get pinched, under water, as has failed the experts in the field now, for 11 days, then we re looking at continued oil flow, for possibly 60 to 90 days. ainsley. dramatic. thanks, phil keating live and now, alabama s bracing for shoreline impact from the oil lick and winds an currents closely monitored for the slightest changes. thousands of booms are deployed as a precaution and skimmers are ready to skim up the oil and there is no clear indication at this point when or if there will be a threat. now, whether or not this is going to come and in what shape it will come is yet to be determined. but again, what we are doing in alabama, doing everything we possibly can to make sure that