Crude oil continues to wash ashore along the Gulf of Mexico coast a year after BP Plc stopped the flow from its damaged Macondo well, which caused the worst U.S. offshore spill, government officials said. About 491 miles (790 kilometers) of coastline in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida were contaminated by BP oil as of July 9..., Tim Zink, a spokesman for the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration, said...U.S. Coast Guard Captain Julia Hein..., said...“The stuff is nontoxic. It’s more of an eyesore.” ...BP plans to implement Gulf drilling operating standards that exceed U.S. regulatory requirements, according to a statement today...Residual oil may persist for years, said Ian MacDonald, a professor of earth, ocean and atmospheric science, at Florida State University in Tallahassee...Seafood harvested in the Gulf of Mexico is safe, the government declared in a March 4 statement.