Coast Guard: Oil Cleanup Should be Scaled Back

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Coast Guard says the cleanup of oiled beaches along the Gulf of Mexico has reached the point where they should be left alone to avoid further damaging the ecosystem.

A Coast Guard report released Friday says the crews of workers, heavy equipment and thorough scrubbing of the shores now could cause more damage than leaving the remaining oil there to slowly degrade.

It says birds, sea turtles, fish and other species are more likely to be damaged by an aggressive cleanup.

The report is designed to guide the remaining cleanup of the BP PLC spill from the April 20 Deepwater Horizon rig explosion.