Graduates of training programmes run by Dillard University's Deep South Center for Environmental Justice and Clark Atlanta University's Environmental Justice Resource Center have been deployed to help in the cleanup operation for the Gulf of Mexico spill.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Myra Lewis, assistant director of Dillard's center, said 75 trainees are working to tackle the spill in Alabama, Mississippi and Florida, with six of the graduates holding supervisory positions.

The training programmes took place in Mississippi, Louisiana and Georgia and included a 40-hour hazardous waste module that is standard for all oil spill cleanup operations, Ms Lewis added.

The Gulf of Mexico spill has been ongoing for more than a month, following an underwater explosion that caused the collapse of the Deepwater Horizon rig.

BP has put a temporary pipe in place to capture a large portion of the escaping oil and is preparing a 'top kill' solution which may be in place by Sunday.

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