Gulf oil spill cleanup and response (41 images)

Responders to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico prepare to install snare booms, designed to stop tar balls from reaching the shore line, in Dulphine Island, Alabama, May 8, 2009. Thousands of gallons of crude oil continue to pour into the Gulf from a ruptured oil well following a BP rig explosion on April 20. UPI/BP Handout Image

Responders to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico post stanchions as they secure snare booms, designed to stop tar balls from reaching the shore line, in Dulphine Island, Alabama, May 8, 2009. Thousands of gallons of crude oil continue to pour into the Gulf from a ruptured oil well following a BP rig explosion on April 20. UPI/BP Handout Image

Dark clouds of smoke and fire emerge as oil burns during a controlled fire in the Gulf of Mexico, May 5, 2010. The "in situ burn" was conducted by contracted fishing vessels working in partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard, BP PLC, and other federal agencies to aid in preventing the spread of oil following last month's explosion on Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit Deepwater Horizon. UPI/Justin E. Stumberg/US Navy

Kayakers at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida float around an oil containment boom at Sherman Cove on May 4, 2010. The boom was set to protect environmentally sensitive grass beds from the oil spill after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig sank on April 22, following an explosion, causing a massive oil spill threatening the U.S. Gulf Coast. UPI/Patrick Nichols/U.S. Navy