GREENVILLE, NC - Cleaning up the Gulf and the oil still pouring  into the Gulf is the talk of the networks…and a constant “talker” in eastern NC.

Two questions have remained a constant: When will oil reach our coast? And what will it take to clean it up?

On Monday evening, a team of ECU researchers reminded the public oil spills have happened before--and they will happen again..

During a Go-Science Café, entitled Oilpocolypes, ECU researchers were quick to say it's impossible to say when oil will reach our coast.

"At the end of the day every oil spill--is kind of like every hurricane has it's won characteristics and it's own behaviors,” said asst. professor of Geological Sciences J.P. Walsh.

But how to clean it up is a different story.

"They try to use bacteria to break material down,” said Dr. Sid Mitra. “And the idea of a dispersant is if you can spread it out--you might be able to get more bacteria to see it and break it down before it travels somewhere else with the currents."

The list also includes “burning”, which has already began in the Gulf.  But since crude oil contains 1,000 different compounds, researchers say some will likely remain in our water.

Dr. Mitra adds, “Eventually it's going to end up in the middle of the Atlantic…will it all be contained in the middle of the Atlantic or will it disperse and diffuse the coastal areas in the middle of the Atlantic.”

Researchers say given the large number of rigs and drilling---located in the Gulf---there's been a remarkable safety record.  Remember, the Gulf provides one-third of US oil production.