MOSCOW, July 27 (UPI) -- Operations to clean up the giant oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico could take at least a year, Russian scientists contracted to help with the effort said.
Efforts are under way in the Gulf of Mexico to stop the oil spill. An attempt to cap the well was called off last week as a tropical storm in the region forced delays in the containment efforts.
A static kill operation that would fill the well with mud and cement is expected next week. A permanent fix is expected as early as Aug. 7.
The response in the Gulf of Mexico started in April when the Deepwater Horizon oil platform caught fire and sank, resulting in the worst oil spill in U.S. history.
Russian scientists from West Siberia were contracted by a U.S. environmental remediation group to help in the cleanup effort, Russia's state-run news agency RIA Novosti reports.
Scientists working in the gulf will work to recycle spilled oil and help contain the ecological disaster along the southern U.S. coast.
Scientists at Russia's Research and Development Institute of Ecology and the Sustainable Use of Natural Resources said it could take as long as a year to clean up from the coastal marshland and fishing ground in the region.
