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June 2nd, 2010
10:12 PM ET

Evening Buzz: Trouble With BP's Latest Effort

Maureen Miller
AC360° Writer

The Gulf oil spill is closing in on the Florida panhandle tonight. Tar balls and weathered oil could hit the area "in a day or two", said Florida Gov. Charlie Christ. The leading edge of the spill is about 10 miles off Pensacola right now. Oil has already reached some of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama's barrier islands.

Meanwhile, BP was able to free a diamond-tipped saw that got stuck during the latest attempt to stop the oil leak. The cutter stopped roughly midway through the underwater effort to cut the riser pipe. Currently they've abandoned that cutting device. We'll tell you what's next in their plan tonight on the program.

Today BP CEO Tony Hayward admitted his company wasn't prepared for the oil leak.

"What is undoubtedly true is that we did not have the tools you would want in your toolkit," Hayward told the UK's Financial Times.

He also told the newspaper the containment effort on the surface has been "very successful" in keeping oil away from the coast. We're keeping him honest. That's not exactly what Anderson saw in the marshes off the coast of Louisiana today. You'll see his report.

There's also the feedback from Hayward on why some workers may be getting sick.

"I'm sure they were genuinely ill, but whether it was anything to do with dispersants, or whether it was food poisoning, or some other reason for them being ill, you know there's a... food poisoning's a big consideration when you've got this number of people in temporary camps, temporary accommodation. It's something we have to be very very mindful of," Hayward said at a news conference on Sunday.

Food poisoning? That's not what Dr. Sanjay Gupta discovered.

Join us for these stories and much more starting at 10pm E.T.


Filed under: Maureen Miller • The Buzz
soundoff (17 Responses)
  1. Nicole

    I believe that they can stop the leak if they wanted to. It is not on their high priority list.. If you can drill that deep into the Gulf that shows us they know what they are doing.. And all the sea life that is dying and beaches being ruined.. It is sad and a heart break that a big company like BP would let this happen and not solve the problem before it got this bad.. They are destroying one natural resource with another... It is very sad..

    June 3, 2010 at 9:11 am |
  2. Summer

    BP should try to use the mighty putty from Billy Mays. They should get alot of it and put it in the pipes and the problem will be solved. I'm from Pensacola, Florida. To activate the putty you have to turn it white. I really love my beaches and so dies everyone else.

    June 3, 2010 at 1:33 am |
  3. Abe

    Seeing as the president has said they will make bp pay for all costs related to the clean-up, why are the gulf states waiting fir bp, instead get the cleanup done and submit the bill plus a handling fee to bp. If you keep waiting for bp, it will take years to clean up.

    June 3, 2010 at 1:21 am |
  4. justin

    The biggest question of all is really the most simple...how is a company as big as BP aloud to drill in the ocean for oil, without have a tested disaster relief plan for something as simple as a pipeline breakin...it doesn't sound right to me, something sounds "fishy" to me (pun def. Intended)

    June 3, 2010 at 1:13 am |
  5. lisa k

    Thankyou for the thorough coverage. I am deeply saddened and frustrated. BP's Riggs should be shut down until this is resolved. Perhaps if they could not make money until the leak is plugged they would figure out a way to stop the leak faster.

    June 3, 2010 at 1:12 am |
  6. larry

    i am disappointed in the news that:
    in two months, they may slow the oil if they are successful in drilling multiple relief wells during the beginning of hurricane season.
    Seems like hey are making an easy physics problem into a complicated one. this should be solved in 4 steps:
    1) cut the tube clean.
    2) slide an open valve over or into the open tube.
    3) add about 20 tons of steel to the valve to hold it down so they dont have to worry about the existing one coming "loose" as they claim to be afraid of.
    4) turn the valve off.

    June 2, 2010 at 11:40 pm |
  7. Jane

    Hi,

    A couple of things. This government really scares me, since it is a bad economy with so much out of work, why not recruit thousands to help in cleaning up this mess. Obviously, BP cannot handle the magnitude of this problem, the government needs to step up with some aggression. We are all at risk here, its a national disaster! My other question is has BP and the government looked into possible terrorist attack made on this well...These days you never know and I don't put nothing passed them, they are out to destroy this country.

    June 2, 2010 at 11:21 pm |
  8. Connie ~ Clearwater Beach, FL

    Anderson, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. Please stay on this, our beautiful Gulf is poisoned, our reefs will die and so many people have lost their way of life, jobs and many more will. I live on the beach and I cry each day thinking about what is bound to happen and all the baby dolphins that were born are all going to die along with the many pods I see all day long...

    My heart is broken...

    June 2, 2010 at 10:53 pm |
  9. lorne Harrison

    Tony Hayward needs to realize that ultimately he will be judged by he didn't do. He needs to stop acting like an ostrich...get out in the marshes...get his hands dirty and work cleaning up the mess...he needs to act like he is sorry...words at this point are cheap!!!

    June 2, 2010 at 10:51 pm |
  10. Janice Ocala Florida

    I think it passed the point of no return,every one waited to long,,nothing is in place and BP wants to do things on the sly.Tony needs to give up his paycheck and start paying people and personally pay

    Where is the micros that eat oil,,put them in the marsh

    June 2, 2010 at 10:49 pm |
  11. Erin

    I think the US Military should take over in the clean up! BP had there chance.

    June 2, 2010 at 10:44 pm |
  12. Dale Chaters

    Why doesn't someone ask for the MSDS sheets for the material. By law BP must supply it and any safety equipment reqired. From the sounds of it organic vapour cartridges for the toxic vapours is required as a minimum. Where os OSHA they determine what is reuired and the company(BP) is required to supply. I would find a good lawyer now as they cannot negotiate away their legal rights behind a nondosclosure agreementam

    June 2, 2010 at 10:40 pm |
  13. Andrew J. Rodriguez

    Re lack of payments: for work ordered by President Obama, and BP CEO Tony Hayward decision not to visit the marshland disaster site.
    The La Governor should designate it a "crime scene", and have the state police take Hayward into custody, take him to the site, and question him in the oil drenched marshes for questions re the cleanup effort, etc., and then arrest him for non-payment of outstanding debts owed to the cleanup crews, fishermen, and contractors for clean up efforts!
    Hayward is the employee/CEO of a foreign owned company, not a diplomat with immunity!

    June 2, 2010 at 10:39 pm |
  14. David Hoo

    To dramatically speed up the relief well effort, why not do it at a much shallower depth, like 3,000 feet in June, instead of 18,000 feet in August.

    Either divert one of the two relief well drilings or start a third relief drilling immediately?

    June 2, 2010 at 10:38 pm |
  15. J. Cobian

    Thank you Anderson Cooper (AC 360) for keeping BP honest and doing the one thing I wish more reporters would do…Make the truth happen and follow through! Thank you

    June 2, 2010 at 10:37 pm |
  16. Annie Kate

    I know Anderson and Sanjay will blow what BP said out of the water. I hate to see the oil reach anymore coasts whether its Florida or around on the Atlantic coast. There has been so many events this year – earthquakes, storms, blizzards, flooding, etc. that were all "acts of God" but this oil spill was an "act of man" and BP needs to quit trying to polish their name and just get the oil stopped and clean up the Gulf to a pristine state – that is the only thing that will recover their reputation for them. I'm glad Anderson is down there to tell it like it is.

    June 2, 2010 at 10:29 pm |
  17. simon sanchez

    if bp has not allocated some form of monies are there any legal repercussions if they do start to pay for any form of of for relief and maybe the reason why they are hesitant to pass out monies, why would this be a problem for some form of relief immediatly.

    June 2, 2010 at 10:28 pm |