As the pool of oil in the Gulf of Mexico continues to grow, experts are warning that an uncontrolled gusher there could become an environment disaster of nightmare proportions if the Gulf Stream carries the oil to the Atlantic Ocean.
At its current rate, the spill should eclipse the 1989 Exxon Valdez incident as the worst U.S. oil disaster in history in several weeks.
If the oil is not contained it could be picked up by the Gulf Stream and carried into the Florida Keys and up the East Coast.
Duke University biologist Larry Crowder told the Associated Press that the scope of the disaster could affect the some of the U.S. Eastern Seaboard if that happens.
The gulf's water circulate between Mexico and Cuba, before going along Florida's west coast and moving up the East Coast into the North Atlantic.
Experts have estimated the leak has nearly tripled in size, and said the slick has begun to make its way into the delicate marshy areas along Louisiana's coast.
"The marshes are under threat, basically, from natural processes, and then thre's also some pollution issues," said Nancy Kinner, an environmental engineer with the Coastal Response Research Center.
"Now, by adding this oil, that's where it is potentially overstressing the system," she told CTV News Channel. "It can get down into the sediments, and when it gets into the sediments it's really difficult to treat it."
U.S President Barack Obama announced plans to visit the area on Sunday, amid criticism aimed at both the government and oil company BP PLC that not enough was done to prevent the disaster.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said he's asked both BP and the Coast Guard for plans on how to save the coast, but to no avail.
"We still haven't gotten those plans," said Jindal. "We're going to fully demand that BP pay for the cleanup activities. We're confident that at the end of the day BP will cover those costs."
After viewing satellite images of the scene, experts at the University of Miami said the spill has expanded from the size of Rhode Island to about the size of Puerto Rico.
The executive director of the university's Center for Southeastern Tropical Advanced Remote Sending, Hans Graber, said Saturday the spill measured about 3,000 square kilometres on Thursday, but had grown to nearly 9,900 square kilometres by the end of day Friday.
"The spill and the spreading is getting so much faster and expanding much quicker than they estimated," Graber told The Associated Press on Saturday.
The U.S. Coast Guard estimates that at least six million litres of oil have spilled since the British Petroleum exploratory rig burst into flames on April 20, killing 11 workers.
However, Florida State University oceanography professor Ian MacDonald said he estimates as much as 34 million litres of oil had been spilled by Wednesday.
"I hope there's less oil out there than that," MacDonald said. "But that's what I get when I apply the numbers."
Oil began washing up at Venice, La., and other southeastern parts of the state, where animal rescue crews have focused their efforts after the first bird covered in oil was found.
Hundreds of species of wildlife, such as birds, dolphins, fish, shrimp, oysters and crabs are threatened by the spill, which could devastate the region's fisheries industry.
"I feel sorry for the local people down here," said sport fisherman Ted Boddie, 67, of Shreveport. "Sad deal. If all that stuff reaches shore, there's going to be a lot of people out of work."
Rough waters into Sunday could continue to push oil into inlets, ponds, creeks and lakes along the coastline, while high winds could send muck ashore in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida by Monday.
Obama to visit site
Obama plans to visit the Gulf Coast Sunday to view the devastation for himself, the White House announced.
While few details of Obama's trip were available Saturday afternoon, officials said the president will be briefed on efforts to contain the spill.
Obama has vowed his administration will do all that it can to battle the spill, which is already the worst in U.S. waters in decades.
On Friday, the U.S. government pledged to find out who may be to blame for the ecological disaster. Obama has asked Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to report back to him in 30 days.
In the meantime, the president said no new offshore drilling leases would be issued unless they were equipped with updated safeguards.
While the cause of the explosion is under investigation, two dozen lawsuits have already been filed that allege it was caused by employees of oil services contractor Halliburton Inc. improperly capping the well in a process known as cementing. The company denies the allegations.
On Friday night, it was revealed that BP, the company operating the rig, had previously downplayed the possibility of a spill. In a 52-page environmental assessment, BP wrote that it was "unlikely that an accidental surface or subsurface oil spill would occur from the proposed activities."
Responding to the revelations, BP called the ongoing incident completely unexpected.
"Clearly, the sort of occurrence that we've seen … is clearly unprecedented," BP spokesperson David Nicholas told The Associated Press on Friday. "It's something that we have not experienced before."
With files from The Associated Press
