Two B.C. companies are helping out with the oil containment and cleanup process on the Louisiana coast, where an oil well is spouting an estimated 5,000 barrels a day into ocean waters after an offshore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded and sank to the ocean floor.
Burnaby's Versatech Products Inc., which manufactures oil spill containment booms, oil recovery skimmers and other products designed for rapidly responding to oil spill emergencies, has reportedly received orders for more than three and a half kilometres of booms to help contain the 50-kilometre-long slick.
North Vancouver's Aqua-Guard Spill Response Inc., a competitor to Versatech, is reportedly sending personnel and oil-skimming equipment to Louisiana.
The B.C. government has also offered to send 15 environmental emergency response officers and 30 other specialists to the Gulf of Mexico to assist in the cleanup operations.
by Curt Cherewayko