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IXTOC I

In the initial stages of the spill, an estimated 30,000 barrels of oil per day were
flowing from the well.  In July 1979 the pumping of mud into the well reduced the flow to
20,000 barrels per day, and early in August the pumping of nearly 100,000 steel, iron, and
lead balls into the well reduced the flow to 10,000 barrels per day.  Mexican authorities
also drilled two relief wells into the main well to lower the pressure of the blowout.
PEMEX claimed that half of the released oil burned when it reached the surface, a third of
it evaporated, and the rest was contained or dispersed.\\PEMEX contracted Conair Aviation
to spray the chemical dispersant Corexit 9527 on the oil.  A total of 493 aerial missions
were flown, treating 1,100 square miles of oil slick.  Dispersants were not used in the
U.S. area of the spill because of the dispersant's inability to treat weathered oil.
Eventually the OSC requested that Mexico stop using dispersants north of 25°N.\\In Texas,
an emphasis was placed on coastal countermeasures protecting the bays and lagoons formed
by the Barrier Islands.  Impacts of oil to the Barrier Island beaches were ranked as
second in importance to protecting inlets to the bays and lagoons.  This was done with the
placement of skimmers and booms.  Efforts were concentrated on the Brazos-Santiago Pass,
Port Mansfield Channel, Aransas Pass, and Cedar Bayou (which during the course of the
spill was sealed with sand).  Economically and environmentally sensitive barrier island
beaches were cleaned daily.  Laborers used rakes and shovels to clean beaches rather than
heavier equipment which removed too much sand.  Ultimately, 71,500 barrels of oil impacted
162 miles of U.S. beaches, and over 10,000 cubic yards of oiled material were removed.
\\On August 8, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) began training
volunteers for the handling of oiled birds and implemented beach patrols on South Padre
Island.  Bird cleaning stations were set up by the USFWS on Mustang and South Padre
Islands.  An overall decrease in bird population densities due to movement from their
regular habitats along the oiled shoreline may account for the fact that only a few dead,
oiled birds were ever found.  After the beaches were cleaned, population densities
increased, but not to expected levels.  Contamination of food supplies caused many birds
to leave their habitats for the duration of the spill.  One thousand four hundred twenty
one birds were recovered with oiled feathers or feet.  The species suffering the most
incidents of oiling were the Royal Terns,  Blue-faced Boobies, Sanderlings, Willets,
Piping Plovers, Black-bellied Plovers, and Snowy Plovers suffered oiling to their feathers
while Great Blue Herons, Black-Crowned Night Herons, Noddy Terns, Cattle Egrets and Snowy
Egrets had tarred feet.