Impact of oil spill spreads

An oil slick from the Gulf of Mexico leak was confirmed a few miles off the Florida coast today as the impact of the disaster spreads.

Officials are saying it could hit the white sands of Pensacola Beach later today.

Escambia County officials started putting out booms yesterday and making other plans for the arrival of the oil which has already impacted on 125 miles of the Louisiana coastline.

Florida officials say their request for about 150,000 from BP to buy sifting machines and a tractor to help remove oil from the beach’s famous white sands is still unanswered.

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour says oil is hitting the state for the first time.

Mr Barbour said a two-mile strand of caramel-coloured oil has been found on Petit Bois Island, a barrier island near the Mississippi-Alabama border. The discovery means Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi have all been hit by oil.

Mr Barbour says vessels will be dispatched to clean up the oil. Officials believe the strand broke off a patch of oil on Sunday south of nearby Horn Island.

Meanwhile, federal officials are hoping blockbuster movie director James Cameron can help them come up with ideas on how to stop the disastrous spill in the Gulf.

The Avatar and Titanic director was among a group of scientists and other experts who met officials from the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies for a brainstorming session on stopping the massive oil leak.

Canadian-born Cameron is considered an expert on underwater filming and remote vehicle technologies.

More than 20 scientists, engineers and technical experts attended the meeting, which also included representatives of the Energy Department, Coast Guard and National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.

Private groups represented include the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute; Oceanographic Institute at Harbor Branch, Florida Atlantic University; University of California at Santa Barbara; Nuytco Research Limited; World Wildlife Fund; and the University of California at Berkeley.