Oil Spill Volunteers Growing Impatient With BP

As 210,000 gallons of oil pump into the Gulf of Mexico every day, thousands of volunteers from the region and around the nation are mobilizing to assist in cleanup efforts. As The Mississippi Press reports, many volunteers are growing impatient with BP, urging the oil conglomerate to speed up its training process and put them to work.

From GulfLive:

Don Abrams, who created www.OilSpillVolunteers.com, said that the wait-and-see approach pursued by BP was the wrong way to go.

"We get frustrated when you tell us to call an 800 number that goes nowhere," said Abrams. "I have 4,000 volunteers signed up right now that are willing to help.

Still, BP spokespeople insist that time is needed before full-scale cleanup operations can begin. Representative Andrew Van Chau told The Mississippi Press that significant training is needed first.

"This is just one of the many steps," said Van Chau, one of four BP representatives present. "We have to make sure folks are safe. Today, we're telling them how to safely remove debris from the beaches and waterways before oil hits.

"I understand the frustration. I know people want to go out there, but if they are going to go out there, we don't want them to accidentally hurt themselves or cause more damages that someone else will have to clean up."