MURMANSK, Russia, May 12 (UPI) -- Russian scientists said it is "hard to assess" the effect an oil spill into the Barents Sea is having on marine life.
The spill occurred Saturday as water from melting ice carried underground oil into Kandalaksha Bay near Murmansk, RIA Novosti, reported. By Thursday morning, a slick that was one-fifth of an inch thick in places had spread across almost 52 acres, just under one-10th of a square mile.
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"It is still hard to assess the consequences of the oil slick for animals and birds of the Kandalaksha wildlife park," Ivetta Tatarenkova, a scientist at the park, said Wednesday.
She said it might harm eider ducks and invertebrate organisms like crustaceans and mollusks.
A cleanup is in progress.
