FAIRHOPE, Ala. — It was always a given that some birds and other wildlife would eventually become covered with oil as a result of the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil platform late last month. But the discovery of struggling or dead pelicans, herons, terns and other shore birds along the Gulf Coast over the past couple of weeks is still a hard pill to swallow for those charged with recovery oversight.

“I want to make no mistake about it. This spill is significant and in all likelihood, it will affect fish and wildlife resources in the Gulf and maybe across the North American continent for years, if not decades,” said Rowan Gould, acting director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “The first impacts to wildlife are now becoming apparent. So far, we’ve recovered a relatively small number of visibly oiled birds from this spill, and we’re awaiting some tests to confirm the origins of the spill in many other cases.”

Gould pointed out that many bird species living in the western hemisphere pass through the marshes and uplands along the Gulf Coast.

He added, “We’ve caught a break right now because millions of migratory birds that winter in the Gulf Coast are currently further north on their breeding grounds in Canada, and in the northern prairies of the United States. But of immediate concern to us, there are dozens of other species of local birds such as brown pelicans and Least terns that are breeding along the Gulf Coast — that’s on several barrier islands, whether they’re state wildlife refuges or national wildlife refuges or national parks.”

The Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge and Gaillard Island are two nearby places where birds breed and nest. Although safe from the oil while on land, the birds can become coated while in the water searching for their daily meals.

Gould said the Bon Secour refuge in south Baldwin County is one of three national preserves currently threatened by the rapidly expanding oil slick. Efforts are being focused on protecting the most sensitive areas of all areas expected to be impacted.

“It’s important to note that the visibly oiled birds are only a small, small part of our concern,” he said. “What concerns us most is what we can’t see — the birds and the marine mammals that spend most of their lives offshore and the probably chronic and long-term effects of the spill on the marine coastal environment.”

Some marine species, such as dolphins and several types of whale, spend much of their time in the deeper waters of the Gulf, and Gould said that makes their loss more difficult to quantify.

Steve Murawsky, NOAA director of scientific programs and chief science advisor, said the Gulf waters are home to many marine mammal populations, including bottlenose dolphins (inshore and offshore), sperm whales, Bryde’s whales, beaked whales and other deep-diving whales, along with offshore dolphin populations.

Five species of endangered and threatened sea turtles inhabit the Gulf of Mexico, he said, and they live in coastal shallows, but move through the deeper areas such as the canyon near where the damaged well lies.

“Aerial surveys have observed both marine mammals and sea turtles swimming in and near oiled waters, Murawsky said. “Marine mammals and sea turtles, as well as the species upon which they depend, have been affected by this event ever since it began and are continuing to be exposed to dispersants and oil.”

He said that as of Wednesday 162 sea turtles (including 156 mortalities) were recovered from Gulf Coast beaches; 12 bottlenose dolphins were also found dead.

Checking a list, Gould said that as of Wednesday, a total of 12 birds had been captured. Eight were cleaned, and four released. A total of 23 dead shore birds had been brought in at that time.

Roger Helm, chief of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service division of environmental quality, said, “Offshore you’re going to have some gannetts, petrels, some of the seagulls, you know, with this situation, about 50 miles, 60, 70 miles offshore. Most of the birds that you would consider a seabird, like a tern a gull, a pelican, cormorants — they will traverse that difference but they don’t spend most of their time out there, where other birds like storm petrels and some of the gannets — and they’re called tube-noses — it doesn’t make a difference. There’s not a large population of birds out there.

Pelicans and terns stay 3 to 5 miles from shore, he said, and because of their density, most immediate impact will be felt here.

The results of necropsies conducted on many of the dead animals not visibly covered with oil have not yet come in, according to Murawsky, but of those that have, none showed signs of internal or external exposure to crude oil.

Seafood safety

Asked if our seafood is at risk, he said, “Everybody’s concerned about the integrity of the seafood supply and its safety. I can tell you that the agencies, both federal agencies are involved as well as the state agencies, are sampling very vigorously.”

Murawsky said the overall risk to humans who eat seafood is actually moderate to low. Fish clear these kinds of compounds quickly as a general rule, as long as the oil contamination is not severe.

Sampling of seafood off the Louisiana coast has been done in earnest since Hurricane Katrina struck the state in 2005. Because of that, Murawsky said, a good scientific baseline is already established, particularly regarding shrimp, Atlantic croaker and a handful of other species. That enables researchers to look closely at the effect oil has on the supply of fresh Gulf seafood.

Two types of tests are conducted. The sensory test is done by simply smelling and eating the seafood. The second, chemical analysis, looks for components harmful to humans.

“The springtime is the spawning time — the critical point in the life cycle for many of the Gulf’s most important fishery resources, including offshore the bluefin and yellowfin tuna,” Murawsky said. “Inshore, the larvae of groupers as well as white and pink shrimp, cobia, amberjack, Spanish and king mackerels, dolphin fish, as well as blue crabs. We know from testing that the youngest life stages in these species are the most vulnerable and that’s the free-floating eggs and the larvae.”

He added, “A functioning Gulf of Mexico ecosystem is critically important to all these Gulf seafood species that we eat, and the long-term impacts are likely to express themselves over years to come.”

Dispersant concerns

Environmentalists continue to express concern over chemical dispersants applied to oil both on the surface and at the source of the leak. Dispersants are chemical compounds used to break up oil into small droplets that more easily degrade.

Although the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved full use of a deep-sea dispersant May 15, the agency on Thursday announced a directive requiring British Petroleum (BP) to identify and use a less toxic and more effective agent from the list of EPA-authorized dispersants.

The EPA is mandating that BP use safer chemicals both above and below the water within 72 hours of selecting an alternative. The company had passed the deadline to identify its choices by press time.

If BP was unable to identify available alternative dispersant products, they then had to provide the Coast Guard and the EPA with a detailed description of the alternative dispersants considered, and the reason they believe those products did not meet the required standards.

EPA officials said although the dispersants currently being broadcast (Corexit 9500A and Corexit EC9527A by Nalco) were approved by the agency, because they are being used in unprecedented volumes and so deep in the ocean for the first time, they want less harmful products to be used.

On Friday, officials said 655,000 gallons of total dispersant had been deployed since the crisis began (600,000 on the surface and 55,000 subsea).

BP is required to do constant, scientifically rigorous monitoring so EPA scientists may determine the dispersants’ effectiveness and impact on the environment, water and air quality, and human health.

Training available

Community colleges in Baldwin and Mobile counties, the Governor’s Office of Workforce Development (GOWD) and the Alabama Technology Network (ATN) are partnering to meet training needs associated with the Gulf oil spill cleanup

Training sessions in Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) are scheduled at Bishop State Community College in Mobile. The training will also take place on the Gulf Shores campus of Faulkner State Community College. Only individuals who have previously applied and been approved, passed a drug screen and background check and been requested by P2S, the BP contractor for cleanup operations, may participate in training at these locations.

The training is being conducted by ATN personnel, and includes HAZWOPER 24 and HAZWOPER 40. HAZWOPER refers to five types of hazardous waste operations conducted in the United States under Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Standard 1910.120 “Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response.” The standard contains the safety requirements employers must meet in order to conduct these operations.

“Bishop and Faulkner are ideally situated to host HAZWOPER training,” Dr. Freida Hill, chancellor of the Alabama Community College System, stated in a press release. “ATN, a unit of our community college system, has many years of experience in HAZWOPER training and is a great resource during this potentially devastating situation. We are happy to assist in any way we can.”

Dr. Matthew Hughes, GOWD director, explained, “BP and P2S will pull from the pool of trained individuals when the oil spill situation requires a deployment of workers.”

Close to home

City Officials in all three Eastern Shore municipalities continue to closely monitor the progress of this incident, coordinating with all oversight agencies daily.

The NOAA trajectory map through Sunday indicates a slight northward progression of the Zone of Uncertainty, but the sheen slick remains well to the south of the Alabama coast.

The Zone of Uncertainty carries subsurface contaminants such as tarballs, which cannot be accurately tracked with satellite imagery or surface over-flight. BP and NOAA scientists are working to develop a scientific method for tracking the movements of subsurface contaminants.

Pier Street Command Operations in Fairhope began again Friday morning. The crews are awaiting additional boom for deployment and are busy maintaining the booms already deployed.

Assistant Public Works Director Ken Eslava said although vandals sliced booms earlier in the week, no new vandalism has been reported.

Eslava said Fairhope officials remain in a state of readiness to respond to this constantly changing incident, and he urged residents to contact 928-8003 for more details of preparation, or to offer suggestions.

In Daphne, Emergency Management Coordinator Chip Martin said Friday, “We are watching and waiting, continuing to monitor events and hoping the oil stays off the coast of Alabama.”

Spanish Fort is reporting no new developments in preparation for the impact of the Gulf Oil. Any residents with concerns not addressed by the contact numbers provided by the Unified Command in Mobile can call City Hall at (251) 626-4884.

By the numbers

More than 24,000 individuals are currently responding to protect the shoreline and wildlife. More than 1,000 vessels are responding on site, including skimmers, tugs, barges, and recovery vessels to assist in containment and cleanup efforts — in addition to dozens of aircraft, remotely operated vehicles and multiple mobile offshore drilling units.

More than 1.43 million feet of containment boom and 560,000 feet of sorbent boom have been deployed to contain the spill, and approximately 370,000 feet of containment boom and 1.28 million feet of sorbent boom are available. Around 8.3 million gallons of an oil-water mix have been recovered.

Staff writers Kelli M. Dugan and Simon Duffy contributed to this report.